Science Hill sweeps Big 6 golf titles

JOHNSON CITY — Science Hill's team effort led to a sweep of Big 6 Conference tournament titles Wednesday at Pine Oaks Golf Course. With four players scoring 76 or lower, the Hilltoppers edged Tennessee High 299-302 for the boys' title. Dobyns-Bennett, led by individual medalist Jake Fowler, finished third at 320. "The course was playing a little harder than normal with the scores, but this shows how competitive our district is," Science Hill coach Kevin Vannoy said. "Tennessee High was right there on the guys' side." Will Sanders, who finished one stroke behind Fowler with a 2-over 73, led the Hilltoppers. Crockett Mullins was right behind him with a 3-over 74, followed by 76 scores for Linfan Li and Ben Vandergriff. Avery Watts and Brian Max each finished with 81, which didn't count towards the team score. Tennessee High also had four golfers 76 or lower. Declan McSheehy finished at 3-over 74, while Baxley Hamlin, JD Odom and Caiden Terry all finished with 76. Fowler appeared to be on his way to an easy victory, but twice hit a tree on No. 3, which led to a double bogey. He was great off the tee, but struggled with some other parts of his game. He still was able to finish at 1-over 72 with three birdies and the rest pars other than the double bogey. "My driver was working well, but honestly I wasn't the best otherwise," Fowler said. "I had a lot of ups and downs, but I stuck in there. To win the conference, I finished second last year, so to win, it's a lot better." Cole Shankle from Daniel Boone tied for third individually with a 74. GIRLS TOURNAMENT The Science Hill girls won by 10 strokes, 162-172, over Dobyns-Bennett with Tennessee High third at 173. Cassidy Mullins with a 78 and Rebekah Bowman with an 84 combined for the team score. Addison Smith had an 85, and Lauren Livingston added a 92. "This time, it's team golf. All of them had a great effort on the guys' and girls' side," Vannoy said. "Cassidy and Becca did what they were supposed to do. When I was on the course, it seemed like we were a little higher, but we battled back." Daniel Boone's Kara Cretsinger had one birdie, and ended with a 6-over 77 to win individual honors by one stroke over Mullins. Bowman was third individually. "It means so much to me. I've been working hard to get to this level," Cretsinger said. "My putting and chipping helped me today. I've been hitting a lot of bad irons, but my chipping came through today. I had one double bogey, but I got through that and ended up shooting well today." DISTRICT AND REGION The District 1-AA and Region 1-AA tournaments will be held at The Golf Club of Bristol. The district is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 18 with the region slated for the following Friday. "It's going to be a challenge," Vannoy said. "Tennessee High plays well over there, and West Ridge is a lot better than what they showed on the guys' side. I know Tennessee High girls had a couple injured, but I'm really proud of the effort of the kids today. They battled the heat and got it done when they needed to." Big 6 Conference Tournament Wednesday At Pine Oaks Golf Course BOYS (Top 4 scores count towards team score) i-Individual medalist SCIENCE HILL (299): Will Sanders 73, Ben Vandergriff 76, Avery Watts 81, Crockett Mullins 74, Brian Max 81, Linfan Li 76 TENNESSEE HIGH (302): Declan McSheehy 74, Baxley Hamlin 76, JD Odom 76, Caiden Terry 76, Finn Stevenson 82, Russell Blevins 79 DOBYNS-BENNETT (320): i-Jake Fowler 72, Beckley Davis 92, Cam Cheshier 77, Peyton Robinson 79, Austin Proffitt 99, Lucas Patrick WD WEST RIDGE (327): Jayden Foster 77, Fletcher Henritze 79, Bo McGee 82, Kale Creech 89, Cooper Maness 99, Timmy Bronson 90 DANIEL BOONE (335): Cole Shankle 74, Ryan Phillips 80, Zach Johnson 98, Tanner Orth 98, Jacob Huffman 88, Caden Malone 93 DAVID CROCKETT (375): Nolan Carpenter 91, Truman Bordan 86, Bently Hopson 103, Blake Carpenter 99, Eli Ford 107, Lukas Easterling 99 GIRLS (Top 2 scores count towards team score) i-Individual medalist SCIENCE HILL (162): Cassidy Mullins 78, Rebekah Bowman 84, Addison Smith 85, Lauren Livingston 92 DOBYNS-BENNETT (172): Brently Marsh 87, Emma Hammons 85 TENNESSEE HIGH (173): Bella Branson 87, Ava Blevins 86, Harper Lively 102, Grace Bowen 88 DANIEL BOONE (180): i-Kara Cretsinger 77, Kelly Carmela 103, Kacci Ferguson 116, Natalie Wells 103 WEST RIDGE (193): Daisy Kizer 91, Ava Harris 102, Iris Gordon 117 DAVID CROCKETT (212): Laykin Rice 103, Sophia Dixon 109, Madison Crosby 11