Streaks Shine In Tourney

With only a week until the Class 2A-District 9 golf tournament, the Sebring boys golf team is showing signs of peaking at the right time.

The Blue Streaks competed in the Bishop Moore Invitational at Forest Hills Country Club on Saturday and managed to shoot a respectable four-person team score of 318 for 18 holes.

"We had some guys step up and shoot their lowest rounds of the season," said first-year Sebring coach Vince Liles. "The guys have been working hard on their games and it's really starting to pay off.

"We're right where we want to be with the district tournament coming up next week."

Lake Brantley won the nine-team tournament with a score of 302.

Leading the way for the Blue Streaks was senior Casey LaPadula, who carded a season-best 76, while senior Zach Foster came in with a 77.

"I'm really proud of Casey because he controlled his swing and kept the ball in play on a windy day," Liles said. "Zach had a solid day and we're starting to understand that length isn't that important.

"Keeping the ball in play and saving shots during the round is what it's all about."

Junior Blake Liles, senior John Vicker Jr, sophomore Tyler Sanders and Sean Garner each shot an 83 to round out the Blue Streak scoring.

Sebring is back on the links with an away match at Celebration today, and then the Blue Streaks will travel to Imperial Lakes Country Club in Lakeland on Thursday for a practice round.

Imperial Lakes is the site of next Monday's Class 2A-District 9 tournament, where only the top three teams advance to the regional competition.

"We haven't had a chance to play Imperial Lakes before and this will give us a chance to see what kind of course it is," said coach Liles. "The kids have really improved their games and if we play up to our ability, we should be able to qualify for the regional tournament."