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High School golf state championships: Christian Heritage boys take state, girls are runners-up; Dalton's Stockard 2nd in 5A

daniel mayes, the daily citizen, dalton, ga.
·4 min read

May 23—For the second time in the last five years, the Lions are on top.

The Christian Heritage School boys golf team has been crowned the 2024 Class A DII state champion. The state title win is Christian Heritage's second as a program. The Lions won the Class A Private title in 2019.

The Lions took first in the state tournament for the classification, which was held at Southern Hills Golf Club in Hawkinsville on Monday and Tuesday. Christian Heritage finished five strokes ahead of second-place Aquinas, starting the tournament with a 298 in round one and holding off a round-two Aquinas charge. The Lions shot 306 in the second round to finish with a total of 604 through the two-round tournament. Lake Oconee Academy was one stroke behind Aquinas' 609, and fourth-place Georgia Military College Prep was 73 strokes behind Christian Heritage.

Lake Oconee's Drew Williams was the individual low-medalist with a 140 in the two-round tournament, but Christian Heritage had Nos. 2 and 3. Henry Hill was runner-up individually with a 143, three strokes back of Williams. KT Seo was third at 145. Jake Eason finished seventh, Mark Higgins was 16th, Jackson Brown was 22nd and Duncan Carpenter was 25th.

Also playing at Southern Hills, the Christian Heritage girls finished as the runner-up at the Class A DII girls state championship. Lake Oconee Academy ran away from the competition with a 290, clearing second place by 85 strokes. Christian Heritage and Hawkinsville tied for second at 375 for the tournament.

Lake Oconee had the top four individual finishers, but Christian Heritage's Reese Brown was fifth in the state at 170. Mia Hill finished 11th, while Charlotte Embry and Kaymin Arrants were 15th and 16th.

Stockard leads Dalton boys to third-place finish

A runner-up finish as an individual by Dalton High's Cole Stockard led the Catamounts to a third-place finish at the Class 5A boys golf state championship, which was played Monday and Tuesday at Okefenokee Country Club in Blackshear.

Dalton finished third with a 620 score across the two-round tournament, eight strokes behind second-place Cambridge. Northgate took the state team title with a 592.

After shooting 72 in round one, Stockard shot up to second individually with a 68 in the second round. Ware County's Trace Carter finished at 130, 10 strokes ahead of Stockard's 140. Northgate's Landon Noble tied Stockard for second at 140.

Landon Wells was Dalton's next best finisher at 12th, while Hampton Starks was 28th, Jared Hijar was 31st, Walker Hill was 56th and Rhett Simmons was 70th.

Dalton's girls also competed, grabbing 11th place in the state in Class 5A. Allee Phillips held Dalton's top individual score at 39th. Riley Davidson was 50th, Meredith Dilbeck was 57th and Katharine Brownlee was 60th.

Northwest's Day finishes fourth in 4A

A fourth-place finish by Northwest Whitfield's Reese Day led the Bruins to a seventh-place team finish at the Class 4A girls golf state championship at The Fields Golf Club in LaGrange on Monday and Tuesday.

Day's finish at 162 across two rounds left her four strokes back of third place and six back of second. Cherokee Bluff's Alisa Pressley won the individual state title at 148.

Northwest's team total was 568. North Oconee was the state champion at 516.

Northwest's Analee Williams was 24th in the individual standings. Macy Sewell was 37th and Karolina Cowart was 57th.

North Murray's Campbell, Creek's Ridley compete as individuals

North Murray's Riley Campbell qualified for the Class 2A boys golf championship at Chimney Oaks Golf Club in Homer. Campbell finished 25th in the state. Campbell sat at 37th after an 83 in round one, but a 75 in the second round — which was the 16th best score of the round — catapulted Campbell up to 25th.

Coahulla Creek's Wade Ridley also qualified for state as an individual, finishing 49th at the 3A boys state championship at LaFayette Municipal Golf Course. Ridley shot 85 in round one and 91 in round two.