SEVIERVILLE – The Greeneville girls golf team knew they had a hole to dig out of on Tuesday if they wanted to capture the Class A State Tournament Championship at Sevierville Golf Club, and they came close, but ultimately had to settle for silver.
The Greeneville boys had a good week in Sevierville as well and earned a third-place finish.
“We did great today. Obviously, we are disappointed to not win, but if you would have told me at the beginning of the year that we would have a boys team finish third and the girls second I would have been super happy,” Greeneville coach Todd Ricker said. “I know the girls are heartbroken, but we’ll come back and try to do it again next year.”
The Lady Greene Devils started Tuesday in a five-stroke deficit to Summertown, but they battled all day. A pair of birdies put them in the lead briefly, but ultimately Summertown held on to win by two strokes.
Greeneville did its best to fight back on Tuesday, and shot a 149 which was the low score from any team over the course of the tournament.
“The girls fought. I can’t take any credit for it. They worked so hard,” Ricker said. “I thought they were going to win it, I really thought they were going to pull it out. But second isn’t bad. We have to hold our heads up and think about the positives.”
There was a brief moment in which the Lady Devils looked as though they might complete the comeback when Kamryn Renner birdied the 10th and Brylee Catron birdied the 13th. At the same time Summertown gave ground with a bogey and double-bogey on No. 14. That had Greeneville up by one stroke.
The Lady Devils led by as many two-strokes, but too many plus scores in the closing holes allowed Summertown to regain the lead.
Catron, a senior, led Greeneville with a two-day total of 149 (76-73). That was good enough for third-place overall as an individual in her final tournament as a Lady Greene Devil. Her 73 on Tuesday was tied for the second-best round of the tournament.
“I definitely played better today. Both days I started rough, but finished strong and that was good,” Catron said. “This is my last high-school round, and it feels amazing to place at state. I’m very proud of how we finished as a team. It was a good way to end.”
As a team Greeneville finished with a two-day total of 304 (155-149). Summertown had a 302 (150-152) to claim the top spot. Springfield tied for second with a 304 (152-152).
Greeneville’s Kamryn Renner shot a 155 (79-76) and Kylee Renner had a 158 (81-77). Both are juniors and will have one more chance to make a run at a state title.
“I think you can learn more losing than you do from winning. They just have to take this gut punch and come back stronger. They want this too much, they love it too much not to be back next year,” Ricker said.
Springfield’s Elizabeth Prowse won the individual state title with a 145 (74-71).
The Greeneville boys started strong on Tuesday and stayed in the state championship mix before ultimately finishing in third place.
The Greene Devils shot a 305 on Tuesday, which was their best round of the entire postseason, and finished with a two-day total of 614. Signal Mountain shot a 600 (305-295) to win the state title.
“We got in the mix and I was excited. But I knew the closing stretch was going to be tough, because they have not been in this situation before. They all played hard and I’m super proud of this effort,” Ricker said.
Andrew England led Greeneville on Tuesday with a 73. Nathan Howlett shot a 76, Bryson Ricker 78, Carson Waters 78 and Landon Aldrige 78. The team made it through the postseason with no round higher than 80.
“To come down here on a championship golf course and have one score in the 80s is awesome,” Ricker said. “This is not an easy course. They all played consistent and they shot their averages, that is all I can ask of them.”
The Greeneville boys made their first state tournament appearance since 2010, and Tuesday’s third-place finish was their best result at the state tournament since 1990. With three of the five returning Ricker is hopeful the group can build on the positives from their postseason run.
“It’s great to have success here. We practice for hours and hours, but when you see the result, now we have something to build on. We only lose two seniors and I think we’ll have a strong team again next year. Hopefully we get back and get another shot at it next year.”
South Greene Keanan Hankins was competing as an individual at the state tournament on Monday and Tuesday. He shot a 150 over two days and finished tied for ninth place.
On Tuesday he turned in a 71 with three birdies. It was one five under-par rounds in the entire tournament.
Tucker Cruise of Signal Mountain shot a 144 to win the individual state championship.
