Lady Warriors third at Class AAA tourney; Bunch places seventh in the boy's state field
by Mark Turner
White County News
The White County High School girls golf team wrapped up another stellar season earlier this week in LaGrange with a third place finish at the Class AAA tournament.
For the Lady Warriors, the third place finish was the program's fourth Top 3 finish at the state tournament since 2021. WCHS won the state title in 2021, finished second in 2022, and have finished third in the past two state events. The team finished sixth in 2022.
Jefferson captured the state title, finishing with a two-day total of 340, with North Hall second at 347 and WCHS finishing at 354. Southeast Bulloch and Northwest Whitfield rounded out the Top 5, finishing in tie at 360.
“I'm really proud of the way the girls went out and competed,” WCHS head coach Jay Stowe said. “There were some storms on Saturday and Sunday that left the course really wet. There were some tough conditions. We had some tough lies and it made the course play longer, but the girls really battled for both days.”
On Monday, North Hall posted a team total of 174 to take the lead, with Jefferson one stroke back at 175, and WCHS and Northwest Whitfield two shots back at 176. During the back nine of the opening round all four of the top teams led at some point.
“We put ourselves in a good spot on Monday, we were only down two strokes,” Stowe said. “The girls battled on Tuesday, but you have to give credit to Jefferson and North Hall. They played really well and put some great rounds together. It was a battle for third place too with Northwest Whitfield and Southeast Bulloch, they are both really good teams. It was good tournament and I'm really proud of these girls.”
Maddie Kate Hall paced the Lady Warriors' effort on the first day with a round of 85, followed by Layne Graham with a 91, Billi Kayl Allison had a 93 and Cameron Kimsey shot a 98.
In the final round, Jefferson and North Hall both got off to a quick start on the first nine holes and put some breathing room between themselves and the rest of the 12-team field. The Jefferson duo of Rylee Brown and Anna Kate Patton lead the Lady Dragons' run to the state title over the final 18 holes with rounds of 82 and 83, respectively.
Allison had a round of 88 and Kimsey shot a 90 as the Lady Warriors held off Northwest Whitfield and Southeast Bulloch for the third place finish. Graham had a 94 during the final round and Hall posted a 98.
Cherokee Bluff's Alisa Pressley won the Class AAA low-medalist title with a two day total of 151 (+2), with Luella's Ariel Collins the runner-up at 155 (+5).
Northwest Whitfield's Reese Day was third at 162, with North Hall's Lillie Mallis fourth at 165 and Jefferson's Rylee Brown rounding out the Top 5 at 168.
Allison had the Lady Warriors' best two-round score at 181, finishing ninth overall among the the 49 players in the field. Hall tied for 11th place at 183, Graham was 13th at 185, and Kimsey was 15th at 188.
The state tournament was the final high school event for the team's three seniors – Billi Kayl Allison, Layne Graham and Cameron Kimsey. The trio have have a big part of the Lady Warriors' success over the past four years.
“I stepped into a good situation, and these three girls were a big part of that,” Stowe said. “They have been such a big part of this team over the past few years. They all ended up contributing to the team score in this tournament. On the 18th tee, I talked to them about enjoying the moment and taking it all in as the walked up the fairway. All of the parents and fans were waiting on them on the 18th green. I think that was a cool moment for all of them and I've really enjoyed getting to be a part of it.”
Boy's Tournament
White County High School sophomore JT Bunch made his first appearance in the Class AAA and turned in a Top 10 effort.
Bunch had a 78 on the opening day of play, and was one of 16 players within five strokes if the lead.
In the second round, West Laurens's Braceton Beasley put together a stellar round with a 3-under par 68 to finish at 145 win the state title over North Hall's Tyler Matson, who finished at 152. LaGrange's Charlie Pitts was third at 155, with Mary Person's Gavin Gaylord at 157 and North Hall's Tanner Seabolt in fifth at 157.
Bunch followed up his opening round score of 78 with an 81 during the final round and finished in a tie for seventh place at 159 with Southeast Bulloch's Bowen Kicklighter and West Laurens' Brody Graham.West Laurens won the team title with at 629, with North Hall second at 636.