Signal girls dominating state tourney
Signal Mountain’s girls made a definitive statement Tuesday in the TSSAA Class Small golf tournament at WillowBrook in Manchester.
Junior Lindsey Hollis fired a 2-under-par 70 to lead the girls’ field after the first day of play, and senior teammate Taylor Gardner is with a 76. Their combined 146 is 22 strokes ahead of second-place Northview Academy.
Signal Mountain’s boys sit in third place at 327, five shots behind second-place Houston County. Alcoa leads at 310.
McMinn Central junior John Houk shot 72 and is tied for second, three strokes behind leader Gabriel Hunter from Alcoa.
The tournament continues today, starting at 9 a.m. EDT.
Hollis played the front side in 4 under, all birdies and pars. She also birdied both par-5s on the back, giving her six birdies on the day.
“She just did everything well,” Signal Mountain coach Rodney Mitchell said. “She hit the ball well. She was putting well. She just had a really good day. I’m not surprised.”
The 2-over team score registered by Hollis and Gardner is 35 shots better than third-pace Summertown’s 181.
“A 146 is pretty strong,” Mitchell said. “We’ve had a lot of good teams come through Signal Mountain. That’s a pretty good score.”
The best score for Signal Mountain’s boys was a 79 by freshman Benjamin Burns. The more telling score was the 85 they had to count.
Still, the Eagles are in the hunt, particularly if they play like they had been leading up to state.
“Coming out of region, every score we’d counted had been in the 70s,” Mitchell said. “It’s been a while since we’ve played like that.”
› Division II-A East Region: At Three Ridges in Knoxville, Boyd-Buchanan’s girls won the team title with District 2 medalist Lydia Campbell repeating as region medalist, shooting 83. Junior classmate Zacori Hill, who had to withdraw from the region tournament because of a wrist injury, finished her round in 89, which put her in fourth place.
“She’s still not back 100 percent,” Boyd-Buchanan coach Ed Connelly said of Hill. “She played nine holes and then it began to bother her a lot. She still struggled through for an 89. The state is not until October eighth and ninth, so she’s going to take a few days off and let it rest and see if that helps her.”
Paced by Riley Covington’s 77, Boyd-Buchanan was the highest-finishing boys’ team from the Chattanooga area. But the Buccaneers’ 323 was good enough only for fourth place. Champion Christian Academy of Knoxville (298), led by medalist and Tennessee commitment Cade Russell’s 69, and Knoxville Webb (307) are the boys’ teams advancing to the state tournament at WillowBrook.
The highest-finishing boys’ golfer from the Chattanooga area was Collegedale Academy’s Casey Tull. He shot 76 and qualified for the state tournament as an individual.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.