The golf sectionals to determine the remaining teams for the state tournament will be played on Monday at sites throughout the state. The sectionals were added to enable strong regions to have more participants and prevent a good team from missing the state playoffs because of one bad round.
All region champions must meet a qualifying score standard in order to advance directly to the state championships. Region winners who don’t meet the qualifying score advance to the sectional tournament.
Teams that finish second, third or fourth and meet the qualifying score also advance to the sectionals. But teams that finished second, third or fourth and fail to meet the qualifying scores are eliminated from further postseason play.
For example, Region 6-AAAAAA is very competitive. Johns Creek wound up winning the championship with a 299. Alpharetta and Lambert tied for second at 300. Under the old setup, there would have been a playoff for the second qualifying spot for the state tournament. One of those two teams would have been eliminated from the state playoffs, even though they missed tying for a region championship by one shot.
Sectionals for boys will be played at Canongate at Georgia National (AAAAAA), White Oak Golf Club (AAAAA), Bull Creek West (AAAA), Sunset Country Club (AAA), Blueberry Plantation (AA), Eagle’s Brook (A Private) and Crooked Oak (A Public).
Sectionals for girls will be played at Heron Bay (AAAAAA), Canongate Golf Club (AAAAA), Bull Creek East (AAAA), Springhill Country Club (AAA), The Lakes at Laura Walker (AA), Cotton Fields (A Private) and Donaldsonville CountryClub (A Public).
Cambridge boys, girls win
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Cambridge won the Region 7-AAAAA boys and girls golf championship.
The girls won their second straight region tournament by 30 shots over Creekview. Payton Schanen had a 1-over 73 to win medalist honors. Sabrina Long shot 74 and Rachel Dai shot 78. All three were named to the all-region team.
The boys beat Kell by 10 shots and had their best score of the season. The Bears had a 17-shot improvement over last year. Chris Meyer and Ryan Stachler each had 76s, followed by Austin Redick with a 77 and Thomas Pettigrew with a 79.
Jones, Marist win Sutton Invitational
Braden Jones of Marist shot a 70 at the Bobby Jones Golf Course to win the 11th annual Sutton Invitational, the unofficial state middle school championship. Marist won the team title with a 5-over 145.
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Gainesville and Woodward Academy tied for second at 154, with Gainesville winning a sudden-death playoff on the first hole. It was the third time Marist has won the tournament, the first since 2010.
Will Meshad of Sutton was second among individuals with a 74. A.D. Winston of Gainesville beat Connor Asarch of Woodward Academy in a playoff for third place after both shot a 75.
Tennis sets state quarterfinal matches
All quarterfinal matches for the state tennis tournament must be finished by Saturday. The GHSA has done a good job keeping schools on track for completing their first two rounds. In the past there were instances where schools waited until the last minute to schedule their matches, only to have them cancelled by bad weather. In order to get around that issue, the state has threatened to make both teams forfeit if their matches are not completed on time.
Here are the Elite Eight teams (defending state champions in bold):
Class AAAAAA boys: North Cobb vs. Harrison, Lassiter vs. Johns Creek, Colquitt County vs. Hillgrove, Brookwood vs. the Alpharetta/Etowah winner.
Class AAAAAA girls: Kennesaw Mountain vs. North Cobb/Newnan winner, Walton vs. Johns Creek, Harrison vs. Hillgrove, Alpharetta vs. Chattahoochee.
Class AAAAA boys: Starr's Mill vs. Lakeside-Evans, Allatoona vs. Northview, Glynn Academy vs. Union Grove, Pope vs. Cambridge.
Class AAAAA girls: Starr's Mill vs. Lakeside-Evans, Allatoona vs. Northview/Lakeside-DeKalb winner, Glynn Academy vs. McIntosh, Cambridge vs. Gainesville.
Class AAAA boys: West Laurens vs. Spalding/Statesboro winner, Carrollton vs. River Ridge, South Effingham vs. Eagle’s Landing, Marist vs. Madison County.
Class AAAA girls: Eagle's Landing vs. West Laurens, Columbus vs. Chamblee, Richmond Academy vs. Crisp County/Spalding winner, Marist vs. Lanier.
Class AAA boys: Rockmart vs. Carver/Savannah Arts winner, St. Pius vs. Blessed Trinity, Appling County vs. Pierce County, Woodward Academy vs. Oconee County.
Class AAA girls: Brantley County vs. Central Carroll/Pierce County winner, Woodward Academy vs. Blessed Trinity, Dodge County vs. Savannah Arts, St. Pius vs. Oconee County.
Class AA boys: Bleckley County vs. Jeff Davis, Greater Atlanta Christian vs. Calhoun, Screven County vs. Thomasville, Westminster vs. Riverside Military.
Class AA girls: Berrien vs. St. Vincents, Wesleyan vs. Lovett, Screven County vs. Thomasville, Westminster vs. Armuchee/Greater
