By Mark Carpenter-
Day Two of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Boys Golf Tournament saw a change at the top of the team standings, as the Manchester Greyhounds erased an eight-stroke deficit from Round One of play to take a one-stroke lead over second place West Union after two rounds of play. Round Two was played on Thursday, Sept. 17 at Buckeye Hills.
It was West Union holding the eight-stroke advantage after the first nine holes of play, but the Dragons slipped in round two, allowing Manchester and North Adams both to make jumps in the team standings as the tournament reached its hallway point. The Greyhounds were on top after two rounds, with a team stroke total of 345, followed by the Dragons at 346, and the Green Devils at 350.
The second round comeback for Coach Adam Poole’s Hounds was led by two of the day’s three medalists, all of whom shot 39 for nine holes. Manchester’s two medalists were Daulton McDonald and Luke Hayslip, both of whom shot 39. The Hounds also got scores of 43 from Isaiah Scott and 47 from Karson Reaves as they improved their overall team score by nine strokes from round one.
Another big jump in the team standings came from the North Adams Green Devils, who improved by 12 strokes to put themselves right in the mix for the SHAC team title. On Day Two, the Devils were paced by senior Carson Chaney, who shot a 41, with teammate Brady Lung right behind at 42. Junior T.J. Holt carded a 43 for the day as did Ethan Taylor, with Jacob Campbell shooting 47, putting all of the North Adams golfers in Round Two in the 40’s.
Though the West Union squad slipped by eight strokes in their team stroke total, the Dragons, as usual, are still right in the midst of the first place battle. In round two, the Dragons were led by Derrick Pell’s 41, with twin brother Dakota Pell not far behind at 43. On the second day, West Union senior Clayton Jones shot a 45, while Jonathan MacDowell came in at 48, and Aden Weeks at 49.
Peebles senior Dawson Mills was one of round two’s trio of medalists, shooting a sparkling 39 over the nine holes at Buckeye Hills. Coach Michael Walls’ Indians overall improved an impressive 15 strokes as a team and along with Mills had Logan Mahan at 43, Oakley Burba at 45, Keltin Robinson at 48, and Brennan Kyle at 49,
All of the solid play in Round Two of the SHAC Tourney set up another day of flip-flopping in the standings in the third round, which was played on Monday, Sept. 21 at the Whiteoak Golf Course. Look for a recap of Round Three in the upcoming weekend edition of The People’s Defender.
Team Scores for Round Two: Manchester 168, North Adams 169, Peebles 175, West Union 177, Eastern Brown 184, Fairfield 201, Lynchburg 203, Whiteoak 216
Top 10 Individuals, Round Two: Daulton McDonald, Manchester (39), Luke Hayslip, Manchester (39), Dawson Mills, Peebles (39), Ethan Tracy, Eastern Brown (40), Landon Jodrey, Ripley (41), Derrick Pell, West Union (41), Carson Chaney, North Adams (41), Brady Lung, North Adams (42), Dakota Pell, West Union (43), T.J.Holt, North Adams (43), Isaiah Scott, Manchester (43), Ethan Taylor, North Adams (43), Logan Mahan, Peebles (43)
Individual Leaders after Round Two: Daulton McDonald, Manchester (77), Luke Jayslip, Manchester (80), Ethan Tracy, Eastern Brown (81), Dakota Pell, West Union (82), Landon Jodrey, Ripley (84), Derrick Pell, West Union (84)
