MORRISTOWN – For the first time in program history the Chuckey-Doak girls golf team has qualified for the state tournament.
The Lady Black Knights dominated the field on Monday in the Region 1-A Tournament at the Country Club in Morristown, winning by 18 strokes and also claiming the program’s first region championship.
“There were a lot of emotions coming into today, because of what is going on in our community. These girls don’t have water, they haven’t had showers, but considering everything they are up against I think they had great day,” Chuckey-Doak coach D’Lee Pollock said.
Layla Fox led the way for Chuckey-Doak with an 82 in the difficult and soggy conditions on Monday. That was good enough to claim her second individual region championship as she outdistanced second place by eight strokes.
“I didn’t play my best today, my driver was definitely not great, but my putting and my irons made up for it. Golf is all about keeping a positive mentality, and I think when I started putting good it got my confidence up,” Fox said. “It feels great to be region champion. I’ve been practicing a lot, even with the rain, and it’s paid off.”
Harley Thompson shot a 102 for the Lady Knights’ team score of 184. Kyleigh Crawford shot a 114 for Chuckey-Doak.
Fox will be playing in the state tournament for the third time as she placed 21st as an individual in 2022 and 24th in 2023. She hopes her experience on the tough course in Sevierville will have her and her teammates prepared for a strong finish next week.
“It feels good to be going back to state, and I definitely want to shoot better scores this year,” Fox said. “I feel more prepared going down there, I’ve practiced more this year, and I know the course now. I think that makes me more confident going into the state tournament.”
The Class A State Tournament will take place on October 7-8 at The Sevierville Golf Club.
Cumberland Gap was second as a team in the girls’ tournament with Mahala Walker leading the way with a 90 and Maddie Fultz shooting a 112 for a 202 team score.
Walker advanced to the state tournament as an individual along with Layla Campbell (93) of Samuel Everett and Marlee Cornett (102) of Unicoi.
In the boys’ tournament South Greene’s Kolben Gregg is heading back to the state tournament after a second-place finish in the region tournament.
“It feels good to be to be going back to the state tournament,” Gregg said. “I think I can go down there and do well. It’s about getting a few more birdies and getting those doubles off the card. I like the environment there, I like everybody watching me. If I could have a student section like you have in basketball I think that would be good for me. So I’m excited to get down there, and with a little practice I think I can do well.”
Gregg shot an 81 on Monday and won a playoff with Alcoa’s Jack Smeltzer to claim his second-place medal. The South Greene senior did not feel like he was at his best on Monday after the torrential rains and the cleanup efforts caused by Hurricane Helene prevented him from practicing last week.
Heading into the state tournament Gregg plans to put in the hours working on his craft and hopes for another high finish. He placed ninth as an individual at the state tournament in 2023 and was fourth in 2022.
“After everything that has gone on this week, I haven’t had much time to practice and it feels good to scrape by. There was off and on rain today, the conditions were less than ideal but I just needed to stay focused. I think going into next week it’s about keeping my head on straight and getting practice in,” Gregg said.
The South Greene boys came in second as a team on Monday. Benjamin Conner had an 83, Luke Roberts 92, and Colby Brooks 96 for the Rebels team score 352. Cameron Kinser shot a 109.
Cumberland Gap claimed the Region 1-A Championship with a 349. Matthew McCorkel shot an 83, Jack Scott 85, Kolton Goins 89, and Alex Booth 92.
L&N STEM Academy’s Andrew Doyle shot a 79 to claim the individual region championship. Smeltzer of Alcoa shot an 81 and also advanced to the state tournament.
West Greene shot a 391 as a team. Connor Campbell led the way with an 85, Eli Brown shot a 106, Keaton Potter 115, Aiden Willett 95 and Peyton Shelton 105.
