MORRISTOWN – The Greeneville boys golf team went to The Country Club of Morristown on Monday to compete in the 49th annual Mike Mills Morristown Invitational.
In a deep and talented field the Greene Devils finished in sixth place out of 20 teams. As an individual Greeneville’s Bryson Ricker shot a 73 and earned a ninth-place medal.
“We played good today as a group. We had a few struggles, but overall, I felt like they competed,” Greeneville assistant coach Todd Ricker said. “We are trying to build that competition with each other, and I’m really excited about this group early in the year. If a couple things come together we will have a chance to compete for the district, region, and a state tournament spot.”
The Greene Devils were the top finishers among the six Class A schools in the tournament with a 328, outdistancing Elizabethton by nine strokes.
“It’s good to see where we are against those teams right now, but we can’t rest on that,” coach Ricker said. “Everybody will get better as the season goes on, and we have to get better. I think these guys can do some good things this year, but they have to keep competing.”
Sophomore Byrson Ricker led the way for Greeneville with a one-over-par 73 which left him in a four-way tie for sixth-place. After a scorecard tiebreaker Ricker took home the ninth-place medal. In his mind the key on Monday was keeping his tee shots down the middle.
“It felt good to play good. A lot of hard work is paying off, and a top 10 finish here feels pretty good,” Ricker said. “I hit my driver really well and kept it in the middle of the fairway all day, I felt like that was key.”
Landon Alridge shot a 79 for Greeneville, Nathan Howlett turned in an 88 and Wolfgang Rabern had an 88 for the Devils’ team score of 328. Brayden Shelton shot a 103.
Hardin Valley’s Conner Williams took home medalist honors by shooting a two-under par 70. His teammate Jake Sheffield was second with a 71. As a team the Hawks took first place by shooting a one-over-par 289.
First Baptist Academy was second with a 308. Alex Green led the way with a 73. Farragut was third with a 310, led by Evan Brown’s 72.
The Lady Devils will head to Morristown on Tuesday for the girls’ edition of the tournament.
