Young RC Golfers Start Strong

Wildcats Place Fourth In First Two Competitions

For a young squad, the Rockbridge County High School golf team is off to a strong start, placing fourth in its first two competitions last week.

The Wildcats tied for fourth place of 10 teams at the inaugural Blue Streak Invitational on Tuesday of last week at Heritage Oaks Golf Course in Harrisonburg. Last Wednesday, the Wildcats placed fourth of seven teams in their first Valley District match of the season and their only home competition of the year last Wednesday at the Lexington Golf & Country Club.

In the season-opening tournament, RC shot a 342 to tie Monticello and Central on the difficult 18-hole Heritage Oaks course. Jefferson Forest won with a 295, Turner Ashby (320) placed second, and Spotswood (334) finished third. Rounding out the standings were East Rockingham, Luray, Rocktown and Harrisonburg.

After the tournament, RC head coach David Miller said he was “very encouraged by this year’s team.” The Wildcats have two seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and three freshmen. “It is a fun team with some new faces,” added Miller.

Senior captain Andrew McCoy led the Wildcats by shooting a 77 on the par-70 course. Miller said McCoy “got every bad break imaginable,” but he “hit the ball well.”

JF’s Cody Cox was the medalist, firing a 68 for a convincing victory.

The Wildcats’ second scorer was freshman Joe Vargas, posting an 83. Miller said Vargas “had a great round. He hits it straight and stays within himself and putted well.” Turning in RC’s third score was junior captain Harrison Tanner, carding an 88, while junior Dean Fafatas completed the Wildcats’ team scoring with a 94. Also competing for RC were sophomore Finbar Looney, shooting a 95, and freshman Davis Welsh, garnering a 100.

Wildcats Fourth At Home The W ildcats placed fourth of seven teams in the first Valley District match this season last Wednesday at the Lexington Golf & Country Club.

RC shot a 337 on its challenging 18-hole home course. Because the course will be expanding and undergoing extensive work, following a partnership agreed to this spring with Washington and Lee University, there will be no more home competitions for the Wildcats this season.

Pleased with his team’s score, Miller said, “I’m very excited. I know that some of the guys that have been out here for a little while ought to do better, but that’s still a good score for us. Our goal going into this was to break 330, and we’re pretty close, and you just drop a couple shots from a couple guys, especially at the top of the order, you’re there pretty quick. I’m pretty happy with that.”

Spotswood won the match with a score of 308 on the challenging 18-hole course, while Turner Ashby placed second with a 317, and East Rockingham (328) finished third. Following RC in the standings were William Monroe (351), Broadway (373) and Rocktown (392). Harrisonburg had two golfers competing, not enough (four) to record a team score.

TA senior Ryan Hutchinson was the medalist, firing a 68 on the par-71 course, scoring 36 on the front nine and 32 on the back nine. Tying for second place of 44 golfers were ER’s Camden Clem and Spotswood’s Jacob Burkholder, both shooting 75. Spotswood’s Casen Chandler placed fourth with a 77.

Leading the Wildcats was McCoy, shooting a 78 to tie two Spotswood golfers for fifth place, scoring 37 on the front nine and 41 on the back nine. Miller said that, while McCoy was in the top five as usual, he “never got rolling with his putter. Two more district matches next week, and they better watch out for his birdie run.”

RC’s second scorer was Tanner, carding an 84, and Miller sees him dropping into the 70s by avoiding a few bad holes. Vargas followed with an 86. “He is straight and steady, and once he can gain some distance, he could be battling the top dogs,” said Miller.

Welsh shot an 89 to complete the Wildcats’ team scoring. Also competing for RC were junior Fafatas, posting a 90, and sophomore Looney, recording a 95.

Noting the improvement of his team’s scores from last year, Miller said, “I don’t think we had a match last year where we didn’t count something in the 100s, and we didn’t even count anything in the 90s today. Four scores in the 80s and 70s is awesome golf.”

Miller is optimistic about this season, noting that McCoy and Tanner are the only two Wildcats with a lot of match experience. He said the Wildcats aim to “get a little better” in each competition as they hope to get closer in the race for the two spots from the Valley District to qualify for the Region 3C tournament. “You never know what happens when it all shakes out at the end,” he said.

The Wildcats were scheduled to compete in the Bockman Invitational last Thursday at Lake Monticello, but that tournament was canceled due to rain. RC was slated to continue district action with a match at Greene Hills Club in Standardsville on Monday, with William Monroe playing host.

The Wildcats will continue district action at Shenvalee Golf Resort in New Market on Thursday at 10 a.m., with Broadway playing host. Next up they’ll travel to McGaheysville on Monday for a district match at Woodstone Meadow Golf Course at 11 a.m., with Spotswood and East Rockingham as the host teams.