The Salem High golf team qualified for the Region 4D tournament with a second place finish in Tuesday’s sub-region at the Hidden Valley Country Club.
“Pressure was on as only the top two teams and top four individuals not on those two teams advance to the Region final at Winchester Country Club next Tuesday,” said Salem coach Blaine Hancock.
As it turned out four teams were within five shots based on average for the top spot, so it was going to be a tight match. Amherst senior Caitlyn Baxter set a women’s course record from the tees they played. The William & Mary commit torched the course posting a 63 (-8).
Team score wise, it came down to the wire. Blacksburg finished one shot ahead of Salem, 289 to 290, to take home the top spot on the day. Those two just edged out EC Glass, who posted a 296, and Halifax at 301. Both Salem and Blacksburg advance next week to Winchester along with Baxter from Amherst, Owen Mason from Halifax, and two EC Glass players, Preston Laughon & Nikko Guanzon, who all posted rounds at even par or better.
“Watching scores all day, we knew it was going to be tight,” said Hancock. “There are a lot of talented players in our area and many that can make an impact at the state level. We had to bring our A game to advance.”
The Spartans did just that, led by Missouri commit senior Ashnoor Kaur who posted a 70 (-1) to set the tone. She was closely followed by junior Mike Bateman who posted a 71 and freshman Chloe Collins who came in at 72.
“Our top three scorers came through big today,” said Hancock. “When we needed them, they stepped up.”
Also scoring for the Spartans were sophomore McKenzie Eversole and junior Croix Bowen who both posted a 77. Rounding out the lineup was sophomore JD Williamson with an 82.
“We’ve been working for this moment all season,” said Hancock. “We hope to continue to build on our moment next week for the Region Championship in Winchester and keep this postseason run going.”
