Prairie City golfer Sawyer Quinton is shown wearing his district championship medal on May 9, 2023.

The first high school golf season in Prairie City in 17 years is mostly in the books, although the final chapter has yet to be written.

The team competed in the district tournament at Birch Creek Golf Course in Pendleton on May 8 and 9, placing fourth as a group while crowning an individual district champion in freshman Sawyer Quinton, who has advanced to the state tourney.

The district tournament was the final competition for everyone on the team save Quinton, allowing head coach Robert Quinton a little time to reflect on the past season.

Quinton said the team came to be because his son, Sawyer, had a desire to play golf and attend school in Prairie City. These circumstances resulted in Quinton reaching out the the school’s administration to see if forming a golf team was a possibility.

“I approached (Principal) Casey Hallgarth and (athletic director) Billy (Colston) about having a golf team so Sawyer can play high school golf,” Quinton said. “He’s been looking forward to it — he’s a freshman, and he’s been looking forward to it. We had a meeting, and kids showed up.”

All told, there were 10 kids at that meeting, eight of whom would eventually make up the Prairie City golf team. Quinton said there were some discussions about a possible co-op with Grant Union High School, as is done with other sports, but the boys unanimously decided against it.

“They all said, to a boy, ‘Hey, we go to school for Prairie City and we want to represent Prairie City.’ And there’s eight of them,” he stated.

Quinton said he was approached following that meeting by former Prairie City golfer Yazzie Voigt, who offered his services as an assistant coach. Quinton and Voigt then went and got their coaching certifications.

That wasn’t all there was to the process, of course. The Oregon School Activities Association had to be contacted and tournaments scheduled, something Quinton said Prairie City athletic director Billy Colston did a wonderful job accomplishing.

The team has already made an impact on the Oregon sports scene, managing to establish a trademark in its first year back as a team. Panther golfers, with their bright Prairie City orange pants, are hard to miss.

Quinton said the look is infectious, with other schools now wanting to don pants with their own team colors.

“One team — their colors are black and red — said, ‘Our team wants bright red pants next year,’” he said.

On the links, Sawyer Quinton unquestionably led the way. Quinton racked up a whopping five tournament wins this season, capping the season with a win in the district tournament by a jaw-dropping 34 strokes.

Sawyer was scheduled to compete in the state golf tournament on Monday and Tuesday, May 15 and 16, at Tokatee Golf Club in McKenzie Bridge.

For the rest of the squad, the year is over, but Quinton couldn’t be happier with the season. “People know who Prairie City’s golf team is, I’ll tell you that. We may not win every tournament, but our kids are out there representing themselves well,” he added.

The Prairie City golf team was made up of seniors Doyal Lawrence and Eli Wright, juniors Bridger Walker, Cayden Howard, JW Haskins and Tristan Gibson, and freshman Sawyer Quinton.