FAIRMONT — Fairmont Senior golf kicked off the final week of the season before regional competition in strong fashion on Monday tied for a second-place team finish at the Big 10 Conference Championship, which was held at the Stonewall Resort.
The Polar Bears came within three strokes of the conference championship, which was claimed by the Bridgeport Indians, but ultimately fell short of the team win despite leading the tournament early in the round. Fairmont Senior was joined in second place by Lewis County, with both teams finishing with an overall team score of 332 strokes on the 18-hole course.
“Obviously, we wanted to win it, because we had the team to do it this year. We started off really hot, and we were leading the tournament through seven holes. Then we lost it, and we made a push late to get it back, but we just fell short.”
The Polar Bears were led by senior Tyler Huffman, who tied Grafton’s Bryson Bolyard for seventh-place, finishing the round with a score of 81. Junior Carson Hamilton came in ninth-place with a score of 82, while senior Liam Shepherd tied Lewis County’s McKenzie Egress with a score of 84 to round out the Top 10.
“Any time you can get three golfers in the Top 10 in the tournament, that’s a success. And to have two seniors make it during their last season is special too,” head coach Luke Corley said. “These guys work hard all year and do the extra stuff to get there, and I’m proud of the performance they had in this tournament.”
East Fairmont senior Trace Tucker ended up as the top overall finisher from the three Marion County schools at the event, finishing with a score of 80 to take home sixth-place on the individual leaderboard.
“His performance was right on for what Trace usually does,” said East Fairmont head coach David Webb. “He’s right about average. He had some good shots, and his putter was working really well yesterday. He’s one of those players who you never have to worry about, at the end of the day his score is going to be good.”
Tucker led an East Fairmont contingent that took home fifth-place overall as a team with a final team score of 350 strokes. Webb was pleased with his team’s performance, particularly noting an improvement in the team’s chipping and putting performance “It was just about where I thought we would finish. It was a pretty good day for our team.”
“I thought our short game was pretty good yesterday,” said Webb. “That’s what we tried to work on all year, to save some strokes around the green. I think that helped.”
One Bees player — junior Parker Hayhurst — scored his first career hole-in-one. The shot came on the sixth hole of the course, a Par 3 with a water hazard looming ominously before the green.
Hayhurst delivered the shot from 125 yards out, with it taking one bounce before landing in the hole. It was reportedly the only hole-in-one in match play in program history.
The North Marion Huskies took home a tenth-place finish at the competition, with an overall team score of 394 strokes. They were led individually by junior Austin Getz, who tied for 12th-place with a final score of 85.
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