By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
Drama reigned in the second and final round of the 2022 Southern Hills Athletic Conference Girls Golf Tournament as the two favored teams battled it out right down to the final holes. Earlier in the season, the West Union Lady Dragons had beaten the Manchester Lady Greyhounds by 11 strokes in the Adams County Cup, making them the favorites in the SHAC competition.
For two rounds of play, however, the Lady Hounds turned it on and played their best golf. After the first nine holes played at Buckeye Hills, Manchester held a seven-stroke advantage and Round Two took place on Tuesday, September 20, the Lady Hounds’ home course. Golf coaches are usually pretty comfortable with the play they will get from their top players, but often times in tournament action, it comes down the the play of the 3,4 or 5 players, which is exactly how the SHAC tourney played out, according to Manchester head coach Jordan Johnson, who was named the SHAC Coach of the Year.
As Round Two progressed, the Lady Dragons sliced into the Manchester lead and unbeknownst to may, the battle between the #4 golfers on hole #2 was deciding the outcome.
Coach Johnson explained, “I went to our #4, Raegan Wikoff, and she told me she was down 10 strokes to her West Union playing partner. Quick math made me realize the match was now too close for comfort and the West Union was now winning by a stroke. I coached Raegan as true as I could, discussing every possibility fro each shot on difficult hole #2. She hit her drive far and hard down by the water but thankfully safe from hazard. Her second shot was very difficult where she had to punch it and keep it low from trees that were directly between her and the green. She hit an amazing shot that rolled up on the green, giving her a chance for a birdie putt. She was able to make it in with two putts to par the hole and when the West Union girl struggled and took a 7 on the hole and that gave us the lead back. Raegan really won it for us on that hole, it was pretty remarkable.”
With Wikoff’s late heroics, the Lady Hounds had been put in that position by some outstanding play by her teammates, including junior Taylor Ralston. Ralston was medalist on both days of the tourney and with that performance, won her third consecutive SHAC individual championship, finishing overall with a final card of 74 (38-36). For the third consecutive season, Ralston was named the SHAC Player of the Year.
The top 10 golfers in the tournament earn All-Conference honors and besides Ralston, two other Lady Hounds earned those honors. Lexy Nixon finished the tourney with a two-round score of 103 (50-53) while Jenna Campbell make the top 10 with a 104 (46-58).
“I am absolutely proud of our girls for being fully focused on one goal, ” said Coach Johnson. “Taylor (Ralston) stole the show, shooting 19 strokes better than the second place golfer. She is a fantastic young golfer and is the reason our team is in the position we are in. West Union is a well-coached, deeply talented team who we respect immensely and this season they have set the bar extremely high. If it wasn’t for their prestigious program, we would not have dedicated ourselves to excellence.”
“Our Lady Hounds all improved their scoring average week by week with Lexy and Jenna making all-league while Mary (Wickerham) and Raegan came in competitively. It just makes me beyond proud. We don’t lose any players to graduation so we can be a force to be reckoned with again next season.”
The aforementioned West Union squad, coached by Marci Nehus, actually dominated the All-Conference Team, claiming four of the 10 spots. West Union was led by Korynne Blanton, who slipped in the second round, but still her first round 42 propelled her to a third place finish overall in the individual standings. Joining Blanton as All-SHAC performers were senior Payton Stapleton, Emmy Stapleton and Lauren Hoop. The Lady Dragons put together a valiant comeback on Day Two but just fell two strokes short of the victorious Lady Hounds.
Manchester and West Union weren’t the only county schools represented on the All-SHAC Team. North Adams freshman Emmy Holt will be a factor on the local golf scene for the remainder of her high school career and she began it with a two-round total of 103 (51-52), making her an All-SHAC golfer.
The two remaining slots on the All-SHAC Team went to Lynchburg’s Autumn Wilkin (93) and Eastern Brown’s Laney Garrison (103).
The SHAC Tournament marked the close of the regular season and teams marched into postseason play on Monday, September 26, traveling to the Jaycees Course in Chillicothe to begin sectional competition.
2022 SHAC Girls Golf- Final Team Standings
Manchester 389, West Union 391, Lynchburg 447, Eastern Brown 462, North Adams 465, Fairfield 492, Peebles 494
(Update: Both Manchester and West Union qualified for the district tournament on Monday at the Jaycees.)