Carter County teams clash at Elizabethton GC before official start of golf season
Published 10:52 am Friday, August 2, 2024
Star Correspondent/Ron Marvel Happy Valley's Colton Pemberton blasts out of the rough and back onto the fairway.
Star Correspondent/Ron Marvel Hampton Bulldog Ezra Tolley shows strong follow-through as he hits a ball on the green from 100 yards out.
Star Correspondent/Ron Marvel Milligan commit Mason Wilson takes his birdie putt on the second hole.
Star Correspondent/Ron Marvel Happy Valley senior Cayden Anderson looks to get on the green from the fairway of the fourth hole.
Star Correspondent/Ron Marvel Unaka senior gets good distance off the tee box of the fifth hole.
Star Correspondent/Ron Marvel Unaka Ranger Rylon Crabtree watches the ball hug the tree line off the tee box of hole number one.
Star Correspondent/Ron Marvel Happy Valley senior Grace Hollyfield keeps her head down on her follow-through.
Star Correspondent/Ron Marvel Unaka Ranger Alexa Henshaw gets her day started with a solid shot.
Star Correspondent/Ron Marvel Freshman Jaxson Laws bumps off the fringe while on the second hole.
Star Correspondent/Ron Marvel Ranger senior Cameron Prince takes a long look before attempting a long putt.
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By Ron Marvel
Star Correspondent
Looking for one more opportunity to shake off the rust before official match play starts, Hampton, Unaka, Happy Valley, and Unicoi hit the links at Elizabethton this week. Coaches were focused on one thing: hitting the ball straight.
Hampton Bulldogs head coach Justin Lyons saw this as an opportunity for his student-athletes to make adjustments and build towards solid play. “The big thing for today is to just keep it in the fairway; I have a lot of dual athletes. Many of the sports they play are year-round, but we only get half a year. Hitting our targets and keeping them big enough to have some consistency,” Lyons said. He shared that he is looking toward Ezra Tolley to lead the team. “Ezra is our number one. If he can keep his consistency up, it will pay off at Districts and Regionals.”
Scores on the day were as follows:
- Hampton: Ezra Tolley 42, Jackson Smith 50, Casy Royston 60
- Happy Valley:
- Boys: Colton Pemberton 46, Jaxson Laws 53
- Girls: Cayden Anderson 40, Grace Hollifield 58
- Unaka: Mason Wilson 38 (low score of the match), Gavin Shoun 55, Max Edmonson 58, Cameron Prince 54, Rylan Crabtree 59 (girls scores were unavailable)
- Unicoi:
- Boys: Jace Garland 49, Guycen Jones 49, Brayden Fender 52, Bryson Garland 54, Jackson Ryan
- Girls: Marlee Cornett 39, Hannah Grace Davis 53
Happy Valley head coach Gene Renfro expressed his optimism as the season gets underway. “To come out here on our home course and get some playing time, things are looking good. There are high expectations for the girls this year, with Cayden Anderson looking to make her fourth appearance in Regionals. Hopefully, she and Grace Hollyfield can go back as a team again. Colton Pemberton has the opportunity to go back individually to Regionals, and freshman Jaxon Laws, who was solid in middle school—we hope he gets off to a good start for his high school career,” Renfro said.
Unaka head coach Travis Sommers also shared his hopes for the program: “Mason Wilson (Milligan University commit) is our number one. He is one of the better players in this area; we also have some younger golfers coming along. Just getting them involved in the game of golf is great. It’s a game they can play for the rest of their lives. I’m excited for this season and just getting them out here and playing,” Sommers exclaimed.
