Breaking News
Local Sports

St. Marys finishes runner-up at W.Va. state golf tournament

By Kerry Patrick 8 min read

WHEELING, W.Va. - Why not another one?

Those were the sentiments of Wirt County golfer Jude Walker after putting the finishing touches on the school's second state title and first since 2002 during Thursday's final round of the WVSSAC State Golf Tournament at Oglebay Golf Course.

Wirt County completed the journey with two freshmen, one sophomore and one junior. The Tigers finished at 493 compared to 508 for runner-up St. Marys.

"This is very exciting - I am very proud of how they handled themselves," said Wirt County coach Daneen Shears, who is coming up on 10 years with the program. "They would make mistakes and I just kept telling them they have more holes and to keep going. I am very satisfied with where the program is now. We've grown to this. I don't really think they need to work on much - they just need to keep playing and practicing.

"It helps having someone like Jude on the team. The others want to beat him."

Already a prominent name in junior golf, Walker kept his game together long enough to take medalist honors in Class A after shooting rounds of 74 and 80 for a two-day total of 12-over par 154.

On Day 2 of the tournament, Walker received a strong challenge from St. Marys sophomore Trevor Maley (81-78=159), who crept to within three strokes at one point after starting the day seven strokes back. The two golfers competed as part of the final pairing for Class A.

"It definitely wasn't my best stuff today," said Walker, who created some breathing room down the stretch by converting an up and down from off the green for pars on his 14th and 15th hole. "I knew where Trevor was compared to me, but I didn't look at the leaderboard. I knew what I was getting into this week, but the golf course was set up really hard. The greens here are just crazy.

"It's definitely a position golf course and I was not positioning myself perfectly on some holes."

Of the eight all-tournament golfers, Wirt County and St. Marys were responsible for five selections. Giving Walker solid backing were Titus Smith (87-82=169) and his brother JJ Smith (88-82=169).

Wirt County will wear a target for another three years with Walker and Titus Smith back for the long haul.

"This was super fun - I was super nervous off the tees, but overall I liked the experience of the past two days," Titus Smith said. "I just tried to keep my cool and not make any dumb decisions out there because it is easy to do."

JJ Smith provided his own electricity on his second nine Thursday. He birdied the hole No. 2 then followed with an eagle on No. 3 when he buried a shot from 174 yards. He played his first six holes on his second nine at 3-under par.

"That eagle was unexpected," JJ Smith said. "It was a shot that I hit a lot on the range. I've practiced it and today it was set up perfectly. After I hit it, I couldn't see it because it was a blind shot. According to those near the green, it hit the flag then did like a 360 and dropped.

"Being all-tourney and state champs means you are one of the top kids in the state."

Even though the fourth score did not count toward the team total, Wirt County sophomore Kate Dotson was feeling better after taking seven strokes off her round from the previous day and finishing with a 90.

Dotson decided to put her volleyball career on hold during the fall and focus solely on golf. In the winter, she plans to play club volleyball then turn her sights on next year's golf season.

"I just putted a lot better today," Dotson said. "My putting was way off yesterday, but I got used to some of the greens today.

"During the season, we knew we were playing well. We didn't have a high expectation going in - this week, we just tried to play the best we could."

As for St. Marys' state runner-up team finish, Tripp Morrison (84-81=165) closed out his high school career placing on the all-tourney team for the second time. Morrison assumed a leadership role for a crew which trailed Wirt County by five strokes in the team standings after the first round.

"Yeah, I thought we could have a comeback, but it just didn't work out how we wanted," Morrison said. "I just hope St. Marys can keep winning regionals and keep having fun. It's just all about having fun."

Maley, meanwhile, earned all-tourney recognition two straight years to begin his high school career. He managed to pick up two strokes on Walker on the first nine holes. The gap between the two golfers eventually became three early on their second nine.

"This year, I was not stressed so much - last year, I was stressed a lot," Maley said. "This year, I was way more calm. I just played my game and didn't really pay attention to where I stood with Jude.

"On the first day, my putting and ball striking could have been better, but in the second round I cleaned up my putting. But my ball striking still wasn't great."

Gilmer County also competed as a team in Class A and placed fourth at 543. Junior Troy Woodford was among the early finishers and was on the outside looking in hoping for an all-tourney selection. When the final results played out, Woodford earned a spot in eighth place with rounds of 87 and 89 for a 176.

"There were some areas of my game I definitely could have done better, but overall I had a good time," Woodford said. "Plus, I got to bring my team. That was awesome. My freshman year, I got to do it and had a great time then."

The Titans' No. 4 golfer Jeren Hutchins was the team's most pleasant surprise on Day 2. After shooting a 110, Hutchins shaved 22 strokes off his second-round score for an 88.

"He went out today with no pressure," Woodford said. "Because he played bad yesterday, he just went out to have a good time and ended up playing pretty well.

"He said his irons were a little rough yesterday and today he got it figured out and started striking it."

On the Class AA side, John Mace (80-81=161) and his Tyler Consolidated teammates placed fifth with a 534. Midland Trail captured the team trophy with a 476. Mace's last high school competition resulted in a fifth-place finish - the very same spot where he closed out his opening round.

Mace ended on a positive note, playing his final six holes at 1-over.

"That was a pretty good way to end it," Mace said. "I started out on the back pretty rough, so I am happy to finish well. Getting all-state means a lot. I've always dreamed of doing that all the way back to my freshman year when I came up and watched the state tournament. It was so cool watching it as a young kid.

"It just feels so surreal to be able to play in it."

Mace is far from having his high school athletic career end. During the fall he doubled-up as a golfer for the Tyler Consolidated golf program and suiting up as the Silver Knight's placekicker on the football team.

He also plans to return to the varsity basketball team this year.

"It was incredibly fun having my teammates competing this week," Mace said. "We had so many fun times, just sitting in the cabin or just going out to eat. It was just a great time."

A pair of area golfers also competed in Class AA. Williamstown senior Madilyn Buttrey placed 12th on the leaderboard after shooting 85-88=173. Roane County's Wattson Nichols did a complete and turned in an 88 after opening with a 114.

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

WVSSAC High School State Golf Tournament

At Oglebay Park (Jones Course), Wheeling

Final Round

(Par 71)

Class A

Team Standings: Wirt County 493; 2. St. Marys 508; 3. Charleston Catholic 539; 4. Gilmer County 543; 5. Tygarts Valley 552; 6. Pendleton County 560; 7. Greater Beckley Christian 567; 8. Summit Christian Academy 577

Wirt County: Jude Walker 74-80=154; Titus Smith 87-82=169; JJ Smith 88-82=170; Kate Dotson 97-90=187

St. Marys: Tripp Morrison 84-81=165; Zach Roush 92-98=190; Trevor Maley 81-78-159; Desmond Parks 89-95=184

Gilmer County: Tyler Ratliff 94-85=179; Troy Woodford 87-89=176; Rhys Clum 100-109=209; Jeren Hutchins 110-88=198

Top 8 individuals (All-Tournament): 1. Jude Walker, Wirt County, 74-80=154; 2. Trevor Maley, St. Marys, 81-78=159; 3. Weston Wayne, Richwood 84-78=162; 4. Tripp Morrison, St. Marys, 84-81=165; 5. Titus Smith, Wirt County, 87-82=169; 6. JJ Smith, Wirt County, 88-82=170; 7. Preston Young, Charleston Catholic, 87-84=171; 8. Troy Woodford, Gilmer County, 87-89=176

Class AA

Team Standings: Midland Trail 476; 2. Wheeling Central 497; 3. Wyoming East 505; 4. Berkeley Spring 531; 5. Tyler Consolidated 534; 6. Sissonville 539; 7. Petersburg 540; 8. Logan 571

Tyler Consolidated: 5. John Mace 80-81=161; Collin King 93-96=189; Xavier Kanz 92-92=184; Cade Heintzman 99; Chase Camerlin 93

Top 8 Individuals (All-Tournament): 1. Jacob Brown, Midland Trail, 74-76=150; 2. Cayden Swink, Berkeley Springs, 76-82=158; 3T. Camryn Thomas, Midland Trail, 81-78=159; 3T. Guy Meneely 82-77=159; 5T. Isaac Tiu, Wheeling Central, 85-76=161; 5T. John Mace, Tyler Consolidated, 80-81=161; 7. Talan Muscari, Wyoming East, 86-77=163; 8. Jake Stewart, Wyoming East, 87-78=165

Williamstown: Madilyn Buttrey 85-88=173

Roane County:Wattson Nichols114-88=202

Starting at /week.