MOVING UP THE BOARD
Bowen Ballis has been attacking leaderboards all season, and the siege is not likely to end anytime soon. The College Park sophomore added to his already decorated career this spring with some big-time performances on the grandest of stages.
College coaches can start contacting Ballis this summer, and there will likely be plenty of suitors after he secured his second consecutive top-15 finish at the UIL Class 6A state tournament earlier this year.
Ballis started the postseason by winning the District 13-6A title. He then tied for fifth place at regionals and clinched his second consecutive state tournament berth. This time around, he took the rest of his College Park teammates with him as they qualified as a team.
Ballis took advantage of his opportunity once again, carding rounds of 71 and 68 to finish tied for fifth place at 5-under. He was the top finisher from the Houston area and made a nice jump after taking 14th place last year. He also had the lowest score to par of any Houstonarea golfer at state, regardless of classification or gender. Ballis also tied for fifth place at regionals and was the District 13-6A champion by two strokes.
For his efforts on the course throughout the season, Ballis is the All-Greater Houston boys golfer of the year.
Q: How did your experience as a freshman prepare you for competing at state?
Ballis:
“It was my first state championship ever, so there was definitely a lot of nerves. I kind of proved to myself that I could compete with them last year, so I was able to go this year with that same mentality, and I played pretty well.”
Q: How rewarding was it to have another great result at state individually?
Ballis:
“There’s a lot of really big names at the top of that leaderboard, and to be one of them meant a lot to me. It was pretty cool.”
Q: Advancing to state as a team this year, what was it like to experience that together?
Ballis: “It was awesome. We’ve never had a men’s team at College Park make it to state, so being able to share that experience with my squad was pretty special.”
Q: How do you feel like your game has improved since getting into high school?
Ballis:
“I learned a lot from my team last year in high school and then throughout the summer, and I was able to work on a lot of short game during the fall. I also did some swing changes with my coach, E.J. Kim, and I felt like I got a lot better through learning some of those things.”
Q: What are your expectations moving forward over the final two years of high school?
Ballis:
“I think any golf tournament you play, you’re going in with the mindset of winning. I think that’s not going to change. I’m definitely going to try to play really well in every tournament and see what I can do.”
Q: I’m sure winning a state title is a goal of yours. What would it mean to accomplish that?
Ballis:
“It really is one of the best fields to play in, and to be able to win that would mean a lot to me because that would mean I’m really one of the top players in Texas. We’re just going to keep
COACH OF THE YEAR: ERIC NOSKI, THE WOODLANDS
Noski guided his team to a second-place finish at the UIL Class 6A state tournament. The Highlanders fired a cumulative score of 3-under in the final round to seal the runner-up trophy. The Woodlands was also the District 13-6A and Region II-6A titles on their journey to Georgetown.
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: BRADY BAINS, FR., MONTGOMERY
Bains made his presence felt immediately for the Bears and capped his season with a strong performance on the big stage. The freshman fired rounds of 71 and 77 to tie for ninth place at the UIL Class 5A state tournament. He was the second-highest finisher from the Houston area. Bains also took fifth place at the district tournament and sixth at regionals, giving him a top-nine finishe in each stage of the postseason.
FIRST TEAM
Nicholas Canales, Sr., La Porte
Rex Hargrove, Jr., Cypress Creek
Eyan Edsall, Sr., Montgomery
Charlie Wylie, Soph., Memorial
Brooks Pawlak, Jr., Kingwood
SECOND TEAM
Tyler Sanford, Fr., Lake Creek
Dillon Barnard, Jr., Montgomery
Alex Papayoanou, Jr., The Woodlands
Andrew Ferworn, Jr., Stratford
Will Jordan, Sr., The Woodlands
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: AARON POUNDS, JR.,
THE WOODLANDS CHRISTIAN
Pounds emerged from the Squaw Valley Golf Course in Glen Rose with the TAPPS Class 5A state title. He captured the crown by firing rounds of 65 and 66 and edging teammate and defending champion Jack Usner by one stroke.
COACH OF THE YEAR: JONATHAN MCNEESE, THE WOODLANDS CHRISTIAN
McNeese guided his team to a second consecutive state championship as the Warriors beat out the rest of the field by an astonishing 65 strokes. TWCA had five top-10 finishers, including Pounds (1st), Usner (2nd), Sam McClure (T-6th), Ethan Bridges (T-10th) and Duke Heise (T-10th).
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: DUKE HEISE, FR.,
THE WOODLANDS CHRISTIAN
Heise was competing at state as an individual since the first five spots on the Warriors’ team were filled by older players. But that didn’t stop the freshman from finishing near the top. He fired rounds of 76 and 68 to finish tied for 10th place.
PRIVATE SCHOOL TEAM
Jack Usner, Jr., The Woodlands Christian
Sam McClure, Jr., The Woodlands Christian
Brooks Morrell, Sr., Kinkaid
Javier Pande, Jr., Kinkaid
Kris Kuvaas, Jr., The Village School
on working at it and try to get it next year.”