By Mark Carpenter-
Round Three of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Boys Golf Tournament took place on Monday, Sept. 21 at the Whiteoak Golf Course and for the second straight round, the team at the top of the leader board changed. Leading after one round by eight strokes, then trailing by one after two rounds, Coach Carl Schneider and his West Union Dragons rallied back to claim a six-stroke lead headed into the tourney’s final round.
Trailing the Manchester Greyhounds by one stroke after the second round, the Dragons shot a 161 as a team on Monday at Whiteoak while the Hounds were at 168, flipping the team standings before the final nine holes.
The Dragons were led on Monday by senior Clayton Jones, who shot a 37, with teammate Derrick Pell close behind at 39. Jonathan MacDowell shot a 42, Dakota Pell a 43, and Aden Weeks a 48.
“The boys made putts and struck the ball much better today,” said Coach Schneider. “They got back to the way they had played all year. They will have to play smart golf on a tough course in the final round, there are several good teams and players in the league.”
After grabbing that slim lead after two rounds, the Manchester squad slipped on the third day, with their best score coming from Luke Hayslip, who shot a 40 on the nine at Whiteoak. The individual leader through two rounds, Hounds’ junior Daulton McDonald, had a little tougher time on Monday, shooting a six-over 41. Manchester also got a 43 from Isaiah Scott, 44 from Karson Reaves, and a 53 from Logan Bell.
The best round of golf on Monday was turned in by North Adams junior T.J. Holt, who fired a 36 to be the medalist for the day and put himself right back in the running for the individual title, sitting just three shots off the lead. In Round Three, the Devils also got scores of 44 from Carson Chaney, 46 from Ethan Taylor, and 47 from Jacob Campbell.
On the third day, the Peebles Indians were led by a 43 from senior Dawson Mills. Also on the course for the Tribe were Oakley Burba (46), Logan Mahan (47), Keltin Robinson (47), and Brennan Kyle (48).
Even with a tougher round, Manchester’s McDonald, the defending champion, still led the individual standings, but now by only one stroke over Eastern Brown’s Ethan Tracy and two over teammate Hayslip. In the team standings, West Union went into the tourney’s final day with a six-stroke lead over Manchester, setting up what should be an exiting final nine holes.
Those final nine holes were played o n Thursday, Sept. 24 at Snow Hill, but results weren’t available at press time. Look for a full recap in the Sept. 30 edition of The People’s Defender.
Top Five Individuals- Round Three: T.J. Holt, North Adams (36), Clayton Jones, West Union (37), Ethan Tracy, Eastern Brown (38), Derrick Pell, West Union (39), Luke Hayslip, Manchester (40).
Team Scores After Round Three: West Union 507, Manchester 513, North Adams 521, Eastern brown 547, Peebles 549, Fairfield 595, Whiteoak 627.