Washington's de Perrot takes medalist honors in Williamsburg

In what was essentially a practice round at the site of this Friday?s Class 3A district golf tournament, Washington senior Dillon de Perrot fired a 2-over-par 73 at the Stone Creek Golf Club in Williamsburg on Friday to take the medalist honors in a meet against Grinnell and host Williamsburg.

?It seemed like a practice round,? de Perrot said. ?We were all kind of joking around and everything, and I honestly don?t think my focus level was as high as it could have been. It ended up being pretty good, but I left a lot of shots out on the course. If I can shoot what I did on Friday this Friday, it should be pretty good.?

De Perrot, who qualified for the district tournament as an individual by winning Thursday?s sectional tournament, was runner-up at last year?s district tournament at the Stone Creek Golf Club. He fired a 4-over-par 75 to tie Williamsburg?s Drew Slings for the individual district title, but Slings sank a 25-foot birdie putt on the second hole of the playoff to take the title.

?I think that sets a good tone for him for this coming Friday,? Washington head coach Mark Berhow said of de Perrot?s round on Friday. ?He has played well at that course and scored well at that course in the past.?

After finishing third at Thursday?s sectional tournament, the rest of the Demons were playing in their final meet of the season. Freshman Derek Anding closed the season with a 9-over-par 80, his best 18-hole score of the year.

?That was his first time playing that course, and I was pleased with how he adapted to new surroundings,? Berhow said of Anding. ?That bodes well for next year.?

Senior Jake Dickinson carded an 84, and junior Ryan Waite had an 86 to round out the scoring. Sophomore Blake Weidman shot a 92, and senior Connor Davey had a 94 in his final high school meet. Davey, Dickinson and Tyler Hazelett will all graduate this month.

?Connor experienced the state tournament last year, so it?s a disappointment for him not to get back there this year,? Berhow said. ?Jake did a very good job for us in the second half of the season when he was eligible. More practice and more meet opportunities would have made him even better this year. And Tyler improved a lot this year and played in a couple of varsity meets.?

Washington shot a 323 and finished third at the triangular. Host Williamsburg won the meet with a 306, edging Grinnell by four strokes.

?We just needed to score a little better than we did to beat those teams,? Berhow said. ?Williamsburg shot its season-best score, so they were just hot that night. We had some good scores, but they just weren?t good enough.?