Photos by Heather BelcherĀ
Summers County and Shady Spring both went to Wheeling with aspirations of coming home with a golf state championship title.
While that dream fell just short on the difficult Speidel Course at Oglebay Resort, the overall accomplishments will never be forgotten.
The Bobcats and the Tigers both did themselves proud over their two days up north by finishing runner-up in their respective classes.
The Bobcats made a late run at the defending Class A champions, Wheeling Central Catholic, on their home course before falling four shots shy of the state title.
“We were 16 shots behind after nine holes (today) and fought back to within four shots,” Summers County head coach Jared Ewing said. “That shows a lot of resilience in our guys. We fought hard.”
The historic runner-up finish capped a successful three-year run for Summers County which finished sixth two years back and fourth last year. The Bobcats also won back-to-back Coalfield Conference and Region 3 titles along the way.
“It’s great and it’s the first time in school history that we have ever done that,” Ewing said. “I think it is a really good accomplishment. Obviously the kids were a little bummed out about losing by four shots when they found out.”
“That is just how the game of golf goes. It comes down to a couple of shots here or there,” Ewing went on to say. “I’m sure Wheeling Central can say the same thing. You can’t take anything away from them because they played great. They definitely deserved it, but I am happy with my team.”
Xavier Honaker shot 163 to lead Summers County. Honaker finished tied for fifth place and earned all-state honors.
“He shot even par in the regionals and then he comes up here and finishes tied for fifth and earns single-A all-state for being in the top eight,” Ewing said. “He is just a sophomore and the sky is the limit for him. He puts in so much work. He plays in a lot tournaments as well and is also a really good kid.”
Sean Cooper (172) finished tied for 12th, while Brian Cooper (173) finished 14th overall.
The 2023 tournament brings an end to a great high school career for the Cooper twins and Marshall Legg.
“I have been with these kids in middle school and up through high school now. It is definitely hard to see them go. To see them grow and mature over the years has been a lot of fun for me as a coach,” Ewing said. “To go out this way, I told them to be proud of themselves because doing this is a really good accomplishment. They can do anything that they can set their minds to.”
Rocky Frye from Montcalm opened some eyes with a 67 in the Region 3 championship. Frye backed that up with runner-up finish in the Class A title chase, just one shot back of Wahama’s Grant Roush who shot 154.
The Tigers were in third place after the opening day, but improved by eight shots Wednesday to overtake Fairmont Senior for second place.
“I knew Tuesday night we were going to run them down. At 6:30 (p.m.) Tuesday we were the only team on the driving range and on the putting green,” Shady Spring head coach Greg Daniel said. “They were disappointed with the opening round and wanted to put in some work. After a six-hour round of golf in 80-degree heat, they were still working.”
Tyler Beard led the Tigers finishing seventh overall in just his second year of high school golf.
“He finished in the top-eight, got all-state honors and made an eight on his first hole of the tournament,” Daniel said. “He is really resilient. A lot of kids would have buckled, but he won’t give up.”
Cooper Ward improved by six shots in round two to help put Shady Spring within striking distance of the then second-place Polar Bears.
“Cooper got a couple of bad breaks up here and sprayed the ball around a little more than normal,” Daniel said. “It doesn’t take much up here to get in trouble, but Cooper battled it out today.”
After shooting the second best score for the Tigers in day one, Jack Williams was forced to withdraw after a slight knee injury.
Down to three golfers, the pressure fell to senior Nate Richmond playing in his first state golf tournament.
The gritty senior was up to the task.
“I walked the last nine holes with Nate because we were down to three golfers at that point,” Daniel said. “He hit a lot of good shots and the last six or seven holes he really hung in there.”
Richmond capped the round with a very important par on the difficult par-5 18th hole. It was a shot that would have made Jordan Speith proud.
“He made a heck of a par on 18. He hit a 40-yard bunker shot to about four foot and made the putt. That was a big time par,” Daniel said. “I knew it was big at the time when he hit it. I told him that we needed a par on that hole. He stuck it right in there and just laughed. We made two pars and a bogey (as a team) on 18 and that is a tough hole.”
Winfield was the overall winner in Class AA and Kerri-Anne Cook from Westside was the low medalist, the first female golfer to win an individual state golf title.
“We gave a few away yesterday, but the last nine holes today, the kids saw what the scores were and they really grinded it out and finished strong,” Daniel said. “I said at the beginning of the season that I thought we could win the Coalfield (Conference) and the Region (3 tournament). I said if we could finish top-three in the state it would be a great year. They actually achieved everything I had, plus one. I was really happy finishing second in the state with a bunch of young kids.”
Washington won the Class AAA crown followed by Hurricane and Morgantown. Patriot freshman Tommy Evans led all scores for the tournament with a two-day total of 138 (four-under par).
Jake Honaker from Greenbrier East was fifth overall in AAA and Jonah Willson from Beckley finished tied for eight. Both players earned all-state honors.
Complete results can be found at the link below:
https://wvga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/wvga23/event/wvga2391/contest/7/leaderboard.htm