RC Wins District Golf Title Four Wildcats Named All-District
Sitting comfortably in the driver’s seat of the Shenandoah District, the Rockbridge County High School golf team concluded the regular season by winning its final district match to claim the district title on Monday of last week at The Club at Ironwood in Staunton.
The top two teams from the district, RC and Waynesboro, and the top two individuals outside of those teams, advanced to the Region 3C tournament, which was scheduled to take place this past Monday at Spotswood Country Club in Harrisonburg. (See separate story for results.) Combining the scores from the four district matches, the Wildcats finished district play with a 37-stroke lead over Waynesboro.
The Wildcats, who switched from the Valley District to the Shenandoah District this year, with shorter travel distances, won all four or their district matches this year. It was the conclusion of a strong regular season for RC, under the direction of first-year head coach Garret Huffman. Last year, the Wildcats did not advance to the regional tournament as a team, but two individuals advanced.
In last Monday’s match, the Wildcats shot a 322 on the challenging 18-hole course to eke out the victory over Staunton by one stroke. Fort Defiance (328) placed third of eight teams, Alleghany (333) finished fourth, and Waynesboro (335) came in fifth. Rounding out the standings were Wilson Memorial (348), Buffalo Gap (380) and Stuarts Draft (384).
AT TOP, The Wildcats celebrate after winning the Shenandoah District title. ABOVE, RC sophomore Davis Welsh putts. AT LEFT, Senior Harrison Tanner, who led the Wildcats, takes a swing. (Julie Tanner photos)
Wilson Memorial’s Jaxson Devereux won the district title, firing a 75 on the par-71 course. Devereux was the medalist in all four district matches this year.
Leading the Wildcats and tying Staunton’s Kamden Swisher for second place was senior Harrison Tanner, shooting a 76. RC’s second scorer was sophomore Joe Vargas, posting a 78, while senior teammate Dean Fafatas followed with an 81, and sophomore Davis Welsh carded an 87 to complete RC’s team scoring. Also competing for the Wildcats were sophomore Hendrick Colvin (94) and junior Finbar Looney (104).
After the match, Tanner, Fafatas and Vargas were named to the all-district first team, while Welsh was selected to the all-district second team.
Optimistic about the Wildcats’ chances in the regional tournament, Huffman said, “Everyone is continuing to work hard and excited to see what we can do.”
