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ITHACA – Norwich juniors Ryan Johnson and Brenon Maynard returned to Norwich from their recent New York State Championship meet at Cornell University Golf Course.
Johnson and Maynard played a major role in helping their Section IV State team take home the third place spot out of eleven sections at the state tournament, only losing to two downstate teams, Section I and Section X, from
Impressively the duo from Norwich would help solidify The Tornado as a competitor in the sport as they were the lone school in Section IV to have two individuals qualify to reach the state level.
“Were talking big class A schools with only one player, and little old Norwich had two,” said Norwich varsity gold coach Dave Branham. “First time we meddled in quite a while.
The two day tournament which took place on June 5 and 6, saw Johnson and Maynard improve their play throughout, trying to make adjustments as the tournament progressed.
The first day on the course saw Johnson shoot a 41 on the front nine holes, while slipping to 44 in the back nine, for a total of 85.
Maynard would fair slightly better on the first day when he shot a 38 on the front nine, with a 42 in the back nine, for a total of 80.
The second day, Johnson would turn his game around tremendously when he posted scores of 37 and 38, for a total of only 75 on the day. This ultimately would bring Johnson to a 160 overall which earned him a six-way tie for 36th overall in NYS.
Maynard would see his game on the second day even its way out, when he shot a 42 and 41, improving slightly on the back nine. This brought Maynard’s second day total to an 83, with overall total of 163. Maynard would enter into a four-way tie for 45th in NYS.
Despite the both Norwich golfers being key components on the Section IV team, helping them reach a third place overall, coach Branham would insist that his golfers, although performing great, have the potential to do even better in the future.
“They definitely did not play their best, they’re both way more capable. And that is kind of a compliment because they were an integral part of the team and didn’t play well,” said Branham. “So if they were to play well, they would not only be an integral part of the team, they would be a challenge to win the thing. They’re both talented players. So I think in the future when they start remembering their mistakes, and adjusting their game earlier in the round rather than when it might be too late. They have to play the golf course differently, they have to put differently, and they’re both very young. They will be back there next year, and maybe some more (Norwich golfers) next year.”
This state tournament would mark coach Branham's first trip to that level, as well as Maynard's, while this would mark Johnson's second appearance at the state level.
“I was very impressed how the other kids from other schools acted around Ryan and Brenon, they were such a big part of this team. As far as even after hours, they all hung out with them, not Ryan and Brenon hanging out with them, it was them hanging out with Ryan and Brenon,” said Branham. “They were such a big piece of that team, and I think they’re so highly respected amongst the players and they’re all such great friends. That was a really cool part of this, just to see how great they all got along. They were playing golf in the dorms, they were just having a blast, and Ryan and Brenon were right in the middle of it.”
The ultimate champion of the state tournament in the individual standings would go to Connor Daly of Section I, who shot a 145 in the two days. With one more year to go in their Norwich high school careers, this individual award will be something Johnson and Maynard will be chasing come their senior seasons in 2017.