LEDBETTER – Mayfield and McCracken County were the teams to beat in this year’s 1st Region Tournament, with the Marshals in the mix as long as the team could put together solid rounds at Tuesday’s tournament at Drake Creek Golf Club.
In much the same way they pulled out the nail-bitter last year, the Marshals captured the runner-up spot by just one stroke over McCracken County 304-305. Last year at Drake Creek, the Marshals beat out Mayfield by one point to earn the second spot and trip to the state tournament, going on to finish in a 3-way tie for 7th in Bowling Green.
Jay Nimmo led the Marshals with an even par 72, Garrett Howell posted a 1-over 73, defending 1st Region medalist Quinn Eaton shot 77, Tyler Powell carded an 82 and Grant Hackney shot 84 to earn the trip back to Bowling Green October 6-8 for the KHSAA Boy’s State Golf Championships.
Mayfield’s 1st Region title came from the play of Husten Lancaster with a 1-under 71, Paul Wynstra 73, Andrew Watson 75, Carter Dodson 77 and Collins Dodson 77.
Lyon County’s Cullen Brown earned 1st Region Medalist honors with a 2-under 70 winning by one stroke over Mayfield’s Husten Lancaster with Marshall’s Jay Nimmo rounding out the top three.
Brown along with McCracken’s Chase Korte (73) and Calloway’s Tanner Hicks (74), all qualified as individuals for the state tournament.
“I’m very proud of our team and especially how they competed today”, Coach Keith Bell said. “Our team score after the first hole was +9, a horrible start to the most important tournament of the season. As the round progressed, I encouraged each player to forget about the bad start and focus on each hole one at a time.”
“The players responded positively over the remainder of the front nine holes and had momentum headed to the back nine holes. I simply kept reminding the players that every shot counts and as it turned out we were able to beat McCracken by one stroke.”
“We are headed back to the state tournament in Bowling Green for the second year in a row in order to compete with the best teams in the state of Kentucky. I hope this year’s competitive schedule continues to benefit our team.”
“Our next team goal is to play well enough on day 1 in order to get to play in the 2nd day of the tournament. It was a great experience for our players last year and it’s my goal to duplicate that experience again.”
