WCHS boys golf takes second golf
The Pioneer golf team turned in a strong performance in their first outing of the year Monday.
Competing in the Murfreesboro High School Golf Invitational, Warren County’s boys brought home a second-place finish in the 10-team preseason tournament, finishing just three strokes behind the winning squad and topping all four Rutherford County High Schools who participated.
The Pioneers finished with a total score of 321 at the Cedar Crest Golf Course, three behind Cookeville, which came in with a 318. Murfreesboro Siegel was third at 324, while other district rivals Riverdale (334), Oakland (337) and Blackman (342) finished fifth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
WCHS coach Keith Maxwell was impressed with his boys’ performance, particularly against a tough field of competition.
“We played well, and this is the first time we’ve beaten Oakland’s boys in years,” Maxwell remarked. “We finally beat them (Monday), and that could be a good sign.”
Individually, the Pioneers’ Cody Pryor finished with a 73, taking third place individually. Cody Durham carded an 81, Josh Eckart shot an 83 and Grant Bullen had an 84 to round out the team score.
In girls’ action, the Lady Pioneers finished in third place, with Allison George turning in the low round for the team with a 96. Tori Ritz and Lauren Bewick both carded a 101, with Ritz turning in the longest drive among the girls’ field.
Cookeville’s girls completed a Cavalier sweep of the event, winning the girls’ competition with a total of 164.
The Pioneers and Lady Pioneers open their season with three matches next week, beginning Monday with an appearance in the Stan McNabb Invitational in Tullahoma.
On Tuesday they will compete in a four-way match at Murfreesboro’s Stones River Country Club, then they are scheduled to return to Murfreesboro’s Indian Hills Thursday to face Blackman, Riverdale and Smyrna.
“We start off with a busy week, and it stays like that,” Maxwell said. “Class triple-A has the short season this year, because the state tournament will be played in late September. So we’ve got to get our 15 play dates in by early September, meaning we have a lot of weeks where we play more than once.”