The goal for any team each season is to be playing at a high level when the postseason rolls around.
The golf teams from Region 3 have accomplished that goal with strong performances in regional play. Now the mission for all six teams is to carry that momentum to the state tournament which starts Tuesday on the famed Speidel Course at Oglebay Park in Wheeling.
Defending state champion Shady Spring, along with Herbert Hoover qualified in Class AA, while Woodrow Wilson and George Washington will represent Class AAA from Region 3.
Upstart Summers County will join Pocahontas County in Class A.
The Bobcats are the lone newcomer to the state tournament this year, while the other five schools are making repeat visits.
In the case of Shady Spring, this will be the third consecutive trip for the Tigers who return three veterans from last year’s state championship team.
Tanner Vest, Jordy Townley and Hayden Wood all played last year while Zach Smith will be heading north for the first time.
Playing in his first regional match as a Tiger, Smith played strong and was one of the key reasons Shady Spring is back in Wheeling.
Vest gives the Tigers a strong foundation and is no stranger to solid rounds on the tough Speidel Course. The junior standout finished fourth overall last year in Class AA.
Tigers’ head coach Greg Daniel feels his team’s experience from last year gives them a strong chance to repeat as champions.
“I told the kids last year if we get a score in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, it will get us a state championship. I think it will be the same thing this year. We have the kids capable of doing that. There won’t be any really low rounds being shot in Wheeling. The scores will be a little higher, but for us, the pressure is really off now that we made the tournament.”
Woodrow Wilson also had a strong state tournament last year and they also bring back three veterans that led the Flying Eagles to a third-place finish in 2020.
Zan Hill, Jonah Wilson and Tucker Lambert along with freshman Ian Thompson form a Woodrow team that opened some eyes by grabbing the Region 3 championship Tuesday at Berry Hills. The Flying Eagles edged George Washington for the title.
Hill finished fourth overall last year with a strong final round that included a hole-in-one. Wilson finished 16th overall for Woodrow.
Woodrow Wilson head coach Butch Freeman was confident before the season his troops could make some noise if they developed like he hoped they would.
“I always thought that Zan and Jonah were pretty consistent. We just needed to find a third and fourth player to be up there where we could pull it off,” Freeman said. “Both Tucker and Ian kept improving and both of them played their best round of the year for 18 holes at the regional. It was great for them to come through like that.”
If the Flying Eagles are to bring home the title, it will not be an easy task. Along with the Patriots, Woodrow will have to battle teams like Cabell Midland and defending AAA champions, Wheeling Park. The Speidel layout is the home course for Park.
“I told the kids at the beginning of the year that since we finished third last year, how about we keep working and see if we can’t win this thing,” Freeman said. “I know we have a shot at it because we have been right up there with a couple of the best teams in the state. I just felt like we had a really good shot to get there this year.”
Woodrow Wilson will be seeking its first golf title since 1995. George Washington finished runner-up last year to Park and last won the overall title in 2018.
Shady’s toughest competition could possibly come from the team it battled in regional play – Herbert Hoover.
The Huskies were regional runner-up last year and joined the Tigers in the big dance. Hoover returned every member of that team for 2021.
Although the Huskies struggled in Wheeling last year, Hoover is sure to be in the state title mix this year.
Bryson Beaver, Sawyer Osbourn, Max Bowen and Sam Phillips will represent Herbert Hoover.
“It is a completely different world up there. I think you just have to play that a course a bunch. I don’t have a great history with it,” Beaver said, laughing.
Beaver is no stranger to bounce-back rounds, however. After struggling last year in regional play, Beaver took low medalist honors at this year’s event with a two-under par round.
Summers County is making its first trip to the state tournament since 2017. After just missing a berth last year, the Bobcats beat Webster County by one shot to make the state tournament.
“We had been improving throughout the year,” Summers County head coach Jerod Ewing said in an earlier interview. “We also had been playing at Pipestem a lot this year since that was where the regionals would be held. I knew we had a pretty good chance.”
Ewing’s team is young and will be seeing the tough Speidel layout for the first time Tuesday. Leading the charge will be senior Michael Sprague, along with a trio of sophomores. The sophomores are twins Sean and Brian Cooper and classmate, Marshall Legg.
Pocahontas County repeated as regional champion this year and played strong last year in Wheeling, coming in fourth overall.
Two individuals from each region also qualified for the state tournament. Local qualifiers were Jack Hayes from Oak Hill in AAA, along with AA qualifiers, Tanner Walls from Westside and Ben March from Nicholas County.
Hayes will be making his second consecutive trip to Wheeling, while Walls is back for his senior season after being in Wheeling as a freshman and a sophomore.
Marsh is also in the newcomer class regarding the Speidel Course, but he is taking the big event all in stride, for now.
“I have not played in Wheeling, but I am more excited than I am nervous really,” Marsh said. “I won’t get nervous until I get near the first tee. I felt confident in my game enough to make the state tournament. We have the toughest regional in the state, so I am really happy that I could make it to Wheeling.”
Every coach agreed that the true secret to playing well in Wheeling will be shaking off the tough holes.
“It is a different world when you get up. The course is tough, and the tees are back. It also looks like the weather may be a factor,” Freeman said.
The state tournament is a 36-hole event that concludes Wednesday.
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