The high school golf season is officially underway as the Botetourt Golf & Swim Club played host to 18 teams Tuesday for the Botetourt Metro Tournament in Daleville. Salem finished fifth and Glenvar was ninth as Floyd County upset favored Blacksburg with a team score of 296 to win the tournament.
The Buffaloes had four scores of 76 or lower at Botetourt G&SC, led by Peyton Mason with a 71. Blacksburg, the defending champion, shot 307 for third place behind Floyd and Auburn, who came in at 304. Franklin County was fourth at 310 and the Spartans were fifth at 312.
Salem’s Ashnoor Kaur was medalist with a five-under-par 66, three strokes better than Landon Bolling of James River and Preston Laughton of E.C. Glass, who both shot 69. Andrew McAfee of Cave Spring was one-under at 70 and four golfers among the 91 who played shot even-par 70.
“The day belonged to Ashnoor,” said Salem coach Blaine Hancock. “She dominated the field with a 66. She was great all day, hit a lot of quality shots and continued to give herself chances. She beat a talented field and finished three clear of her next competitor.”
Mike Bateman had Salem’s next best score with an 81 while Croix Bowen shot 82 and McKenzie Eversole had an 83. Eli Wells also played but did not score with an 86 as just the top four count for the team score. Zach Bocock did not play as he was on a baseball recruiting trip to James Madison University.
“This was the varsity debut for McKenzie and Eli,” said Hancock. “Very proud of this effort to start the year. I know our group is ready to get to work. They were happy with the improvement from last year, but I know they are hungry to go even lower. The best is yet to come.”
Glenvar, who lost six seniors at the top of the ladder from last year’s team, was a big surprise with a 327 for ninth place, finishing in the top half of a strong field.
“Great day at the Botetourt Metro,” said Highlander coach Shawn Duff. “Freshman Mason Young shot a career best 76! We are super proud of his hard work and dedication.”
The Highlanders also got solid play from senior Grayson Shearer with an 80 and freshman John Deel, who carded 81. Senior Danny Floyd’s first competitive match was a 90 to round out the scoring and junior Easton Quesenberry shot 91.
The Highlanders opened their season a day prior with a Three Rivers District match at the Olde Mill course in Laurel Fork, hosted by Patrick County. Floyd also won that with a 307 and Glenvar finished at 367. Deel led the Highlanders with an 87, Shearer had 88, Quesenberry had 93 Jack Osburn shot 99. Peyton Mason of Floyd and Hunter Crist of Radford tied for medalist with 73 each.
“We had many young golfers get their first tournament experience on a very tough golf course,” said Duff. “The squad was working to overcome some nerves and a challenging course.”
The Highlanders will be back in action today with a match at the Forest Park Country Club in Martinsville, hosted by the Bulldogs. Martinsville is a new member of the Three Rivers District.
Next week Glenvar has three more matches, on Monday at Great Oaks hosted by Floyd, on August 13 at Hunting Hills for the Roanoke County Cup and a week from today, on August 14, at the Botetourt Golf & Swim Club.
Salem is in Wytheville today for the Woodford Invitational, hosted by George Wythe High School. Next Monday the Spartans are at Auburn Hills for a River Ridge District match hosted by Christiansburg and next Wednesday the Spartans will host the FC-Salem Invitational at the Hidden Valley Country Club. Kaur will miss some matches as she will head to Wales to compete in the R&A Girls Amateur Championship.
