By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
After a couple of days of stormy weather, a genuine day of golf began on the morning of August 13 as the four high school boys golf teams from the county gathered at Hilltop Golf Course to compete in the annual Adams County Cup Tournament. The tourney was a one-day 18-hole affair with bragging rights for another year on the line.
The top four scores from each team re tabulated at the end to determine the team champion and after going seven years without a County Cup title, the Manchester Greyhounds are now back-to-back champions in 2025 and 2026, tallying a team score of 314 last Thursday, outdistancing second place West Union by 14 strokes.
“”I’m just really proud of our kids,” said Manchester head coach Austin Kingsolver. “They were focused and ready to play and deserve all the credit.”
The Greyhounds were led by junior Brayden Palmer, who went three-over on the front nine, then two-over on the back nine to finish at 74, just one stroke off the leader and taking home the runner-up plaque. Right behind Palmer for the Hounds was junior Bryce Young, who fired a four-over 75 for the day to place third overall and the Cup’s fourth place finished was Manchester sophomore Luke Rigdon, who went 79 for the day. That trio of Greyhounds all earned All-County honors.
There had been different individual champions for the past three Cups (Breestin Schweickart, Parker Hayslip and Carson Hall), and now there is a fourth different champion in four years. The 2026 Adams County Cup individual champion is West Union senior Landen McIntosh, who literally playing on his home course, shot one-over on the front nine to grab the lead, then went one-over on the back nine to maintain his advantage and claim the County Cup crown.
“Winning was a big relief,” said the 2026 Champion. “There was a lot of pressure for me to win the Cup. Our family owns the course so it meant a lot to win this one my senior year. I’ve had a lot of help with my golf game and it’s nice to see it pay off. Being the first group to tee off, you really don’t know what’s capable of coming in behind you, but after the first two or three groups came in, I felt really good about my chances.”
“I wish our West Union team could have pulled it out but congratulations to Manchester! It would sure be nice to add an SHAC medalist this year too.”
Joining McIntosh on the All-County Team was teammate Alex Dillow, who also finished the day at 79. the sixth member of the All-County group was Peebles’ Calen Vogler, who shot 81 for the tourney.
Here are the final results for all the golfers who competed in this ye’ar Cup.
• Manchester- Brayden Palmer 74, Bryce Young 75, Luke Rigdon 79, Kenton Butt 86, Carson Inman 98, Colton McChesney 110
• West Union- Landen McIntosh 73, Alex Dillow 79, Samuel Griffis 85, Ethan Caldwell 91, Aaron Jackson-Hayslip 117, Evan Thompson 149
• Peebles- Calen Vogler 81, Josh McClary 82, Gage Bennington 85, Cooper Meade 87, KJ McClary 1108, Chase Fossyl 121
• North Adams- Caleb Brown 83, Cash Hupp 92, Austin Ratliff 92, Jayden Edmisten 92, Paxton West 92, Trannin Maddox 94
Final Team Standings: Manchester 314, West Union 328, Peebles 335, North Adams 359
The Girls County Cup is slated for Friday, August 21 at the Adams County Country Club.