The only word that really applies to the Class AA Region 3 golf teams over recent years is dominant.
Five of the last six years a team and an individual from Region 3 has brought home the state championship title from their trips to Oglebay Park in Wheeling.
Wyoming East started the team streak back in 2016 after finishing runner-up in 2015. The Warriors doubled down on the championship title by winning again in 2017.
Westside made sure the big trophy stayed in Wyoming County by winning the 2018 title before Fairmont Senior finally broke the Region 3 streak the following year.
Shady Spring brought the title back to Region 3 in 2020 led by current West Virginia University golfer Todd Duncan.
Last year Herbert Hoover outlasted Winfield and Shady to bring home yet another AA championship to the southern part of the state.
Brett Laxton was the driving force behind the Wyoming East team win in 2016 and he started the individual dominance by bringing home the title that same year.
Carson Proffitt from PikeView won in 2018 beating Clark Craig from Fairmont Senior on the third sudden death playoff hole before Duncan won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020. Current WVU Tech golfer, Bryson Beaver was the champion last year playing for Herbert Hoover.
The obvious question going forward is, can Region 3 bring home another AA team title, as well as an individual crown this year?
The answer is a resounding yes.
Both Shady Spring and Herbert Hoover return strong teams this year and the Tigers have an extra ounce of motivation.
“We finished third last year (at the state tournament) and it kind of left a bad taste in our mouths,” Shady Spring head coach Greg Daniel said. “I would like to finish a couple of spots higher this year. We have a really good bunch of kids this year and we have 22 players.”
Shady Spring is led by talented senior Tanner Vest who finished runner-up in the individual race last year.
“Tanner is a really good leader for us. The kids all look up to him and listen to what he tells them,” Daniel said. “He has been to Wheeling for a couple of years now, so he knows what to expect. I am hoping we can double up this year and win the team title and Tanner win the individual title.”
Vest heads into the 2022 high school golf season coming off an impressive summer on the links. The summer started with a bang when Vest teamed up with Beaver to erase a 6-shot deficit on the final day and win the W.Va. Four-Ball Championship played at Glade Springs.
“It started off with a bang at the 4-ball. I still haven’t wiped the smile off my face from that. At the W.Va. Open I played well a couple of days and made the cut,” Vest said.
Vest followed those events up with solid play at an American Junior Golf Association event in Hilton Head, S.C. sponsored by Mizuno and Keith Mitchell and tallied a fourth place finish at the W.Va. Jr. Am.
Now the focus for the young standout turns solely to high school golf where after that runner-up finish last year, Vest will have to battle the expectations that he is a lock to win the individual title this year.
“I think that is the hardest part,” Vest said. “The more people recognize you, you feel like you have to play good. You have to set it all aside and just play golf. I have to remember my main goal is to get the ball in the hole, however I can.”
Zach Smith and Hayden Wood are also back with state tournament experience for the Tigers who have plenty of depth this year.
“We have about seven players that are playing really well right now. We have four that we are going to start out with, but the players that give us the best chance to win are going to play and they know that,” Daniel said.
The top two teams in each region qualify for the state tournament each year.
Wyoming East and Westside will look to be a contender with Shady Spring and Herbert Hoover for one of those two team spots. However, the dark horse in the Region 3 race could be Nicholas County.
Westside narrowly missed the big tournament last year finishing third.
“We have a few people playing for us this year. We have a couple of freshman and we have eight total players this year. Brady Lester is our returning senior and we have Kerri-Anne (Cook),” Westside head coach Jeremy Warrix said. “A lot of them played middle school (golf), but they haven’t seen competition like this. They are trying to adjust and are practicing every day. We will keep grinding and trying to get prepared. Hopefully we can compete in the regional.”
Cook has also been highly impressive this summer, dominating her division on the Callaway Junior Tour. The junior standout was named Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Cook also played in the W.Va. Women’s Amateur and the W.Va. Jr. Am as part of her summer tour.
“It definitely gets me used to playing under tough tournament conditions and playing on tough courses,” Cook said about her summer experiences. “It also helps being around a bunch of different people which helps me not get nervous.”
The young phenom qualified as an individual for the state tournament as a freshman, but missed out on the trip to Wheeling last year. She is looking to rectify that this season.
“Making it to the state tournament is the goal. Hopefully I can,” Cook said.
Wyoming East head coach Robert “Doc” Warner knows it will be an uphill climb for his team, but they will keep fighting to surprise some people.
“My team is pretty good this year,” Warner said. “It will be really tough to beat Shady and Hoover, but I have four players back. Hopefully we can get better as the year goes along and compete when it counts.”
Ben Marsh from Nicholas County qualified as an individual last year and the Grizzlies have some young players that may give Nicholas the boost they need to qualify as a team.
The top two individual golfers who have the lowest score and are not on the winning regional teams will also qualify for State Tournament.
Senior Cody Blake from Independence has played well so far this season and is another name to watch as the year goes forward.
There is one big change for the regional tournament this year. After being played for many years at Grandview Country Club, the event will move to Big Bend Golf Course in the Charleston area.
“I have never played Big Bend. It has been played at Grandview since my dad was in high school,” Vest said. “We will go play it a few times and figure the course out. No matter the venue, we are going to go up and show what we can do.”
Several of the coaches expressed frustration with the move since the majority of the teams are closer to Grandview, but that cannot be changed now.
“No matter where they have it, we are going to go and try to win it. We are not going to worry about the location,” Daniel said. “It will take a good team to beat us wherever we play. We will show up and play the best we can.”
