Catawba Ridge, Legion, other Rock Hill-area schools, players headed to SC golf finals
The state golf tournament in four classifications will take place on Monday and Tuesday of next week at four locations.
Four area teams — Fort Mill, Catawba Ridge, Lancaster and Legion Collegiate — are in the hunt for a state title following the Upper State tournaments earlier in the week.
Two individuals not on those teams are state-bound, too. They are Nation Ford’s Gabe Schmitz and Indian Land’s Mason Kucia.
Here’s how the Upper State tournament went down.
5A Upper State results
In 5A the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets earned a spot in the final field of 16 next week. That tournament will be played at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence.
The Yellow Jackets carded a team score of 314, which tied them for sixth in the 16-team field.
Griffin Tarver paced Fort Mill with a 74, which put him a tie for seventh place in the individual standings. Cam Baker followed with a 79, while Erik Zeppelin and Bryce Whittmer shot 80 and 81 respectively.
The Nation Falcons had a team score of 318 and missed making the state tournament by two strokes. Gabe Schmitz led the Falcons with a 74. That earned him a spot in next week’s event as an individual. Teammate Ben Mills carded a 77, but lost in a playoff in his attempt to make next week’s tournament.
The Northwestern Trojans and the Rock Hill Bearcats also participated in the Upper State Tournament.
Northwestern had a 351 and was 15th, while Rock Hill shot a 394 and finished 16th. Carson Kessler led Northwestern with an 83, while Cole Hinson had a 79 to pace Rock Hill.
Shea Bogan of Clover made the Upper State tournament as an individual. He turned in a 77. He lost in a playoff in his attempt to make next week’s tournament.
4A Upper State results
In 4A the Catawba Ridge Copperheads and the Lancaster Bruins turned in performances that resulted in a trip to the state tournament, which is set for Dolphin Head Golf Club in Hilton Head.
The Copperheads turned in a team score of 320.
Nolan Will led Catawba Ridge with a 74, and O.T. Mitchell followed with a 76. Hunter Warren had an 80, while Emerson Hill and Parrish Fox both turned in rounds of 90.
The Bruins had a team score of 323.
Mason Tucker led them with a 71, and Simon Wright and Trey Crenshaw followed with rounds of 74. Toby Willis completed Lancaster’s scoring with a 104.
The South Pointe Stallions shot a team score of 339, which was one stroke short of qualifying for the State Tournament.
Ben Thompson led the Stallions with a round of 79, but he lost his chance to play in next week’s tournament as an individual in a playoff.
3A Upper State results
Mason Kucia of the Indian Land Warriors fired a 71 as an individual, and that score was good enough to earn a spot in the State Tournament as an individual. Cam Olson of the York Cougars also played as an individual and shot 79. He lost his bid to play next week in a playoff.
In 3A The Chester Cyclones, who were the runners-up in the Region 4-3A tournament, played in the Upper State event, but did not qualify for the next round.
The Cyclones had a team score of 418, which placed them 13th in the field. Reade Ward was the top performer for Chester. He had a round of 88.
2A Upper State results
In 2A the Legion Collegiate Lancers finished second in the Region 4-2A tournament at Lancaster Golf Club and qualified for the State Tournament. That event will be played at the Newberry Country Club.
The Lancers had a team score of 338, which was six strokes more than region champion Central Pageland. Devyn Sutton led the Lancers with a score of even par 72, which earned him the top spot in the individual competition.