Kemmerer joined 13 golf teams at the annual Worland Invitational at the Green Hills Golf Course in Worland on August 16 and 17. The weather was the typical Wyoming mixture. Friday saw very hot conditions with blue skies. Saturday saw rain and cloudy conditions for the golfers as they started, but by the fourth or fifth hole the rain had stopped and warm and dry weather continued throughout the remainder of the tournament.

The more than 95 boys and girls who were playing enjoyed the cool conditions for the Saturday round.

Host 3A Worland won the team title with an excellent 613 total. Second was 4A Sheridan with a score of 671. Thunder Basin of Gillette took third place with a 701 total. Fourth place went to Riverton with 728, and Powell earned fifth with 757. The Kemmerer Rangers came in sixth with a 770 total, followed Buffalo, Cody, Torrington, Thermopolis, Rawlins and Lovell.

The Rangers were led by freshman Blake Wood with a 85-91–176. Wood finished 15th in the individual standings. Next was Rayce Kindschuh with 93-87–180 to earn 20th individually. Ben Wergin shot a 92-95–187. Michael Clarke fired a 118-109–227, Rounding out the Rangers scoring was Shawn Crank with 122-119–232.

The team performance was very surprising. The goals of playing this course well by everyone were not met, but the results were more than I expected. The boys know that they have many things to improve on in preparation for the state meet in a month. I was very impressed with the play by Blake Wood — just a freshman — to finish this high in his second tournament. The team is working hard to improve and each week we need to show that improvement. I am excited about the results and am hoping for a good showing in the next meet.

The Rangers played in the Lander Invite on Monday and Tuesday. The next competition for the golf team is on Thursday, August 30, and Friday, August 31, in Rock Springs.