Warriors to tee-off at state tournament

Cailey Moore
Staff Writer

The Pocahontas County High School golf team came in second during its regional championship match at Canaan Valley’s Geoffrey Cornish Golf Course on Monday, September 28, and will advance to the state tournament in Wheeling, where they will represent Pocahontas County on Monday, October 5.
During regional and state tournaments, only the top three scores are tallied to determine the team’s final score. Led by Elijah Knight, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish came in first with a score of 234. Knight shot a 73, while junior Tyler Mehr knocked in a 78, and junior Austin Wilson rounded out the score with an 80.
For the PCHS Warriors, junior Brandon Wilfong led with a 75, fellow junior Brandon Halterman followed with an 87, and senior Matt Rao shot a 92 for an overall score of 254.
Moorefield finished third at the match with a score of 273.
Both PCHS and Notre Dame will advance to the state championships.
In addition to Notre Dame and Moorefield, PCHS competed against Tucker County, South Harrison, Tygarts Valley and Union.
“I feel that we’re a better team this year,” PCHS Coach Phillip Anderson said. “I really do. I think they’re going to mature more, and you know, I think that we can win states. Brandon Wilfong came in first in the individual, and if he has a good round, I believe that he could place first in the competition. He’s a low ball medalist.”
The Warriors will travel to Wheeling Sunday, where they will play on the Robert Trent Jones golf course. Teams will participate in a practice round Monday, then the competition will begin Tuesday and last through Wednesday. Each team will play two rounds of eighteen holes, and at the end of both days, the top three scores will be totaled to determine the champion.
“Hopefully we’ll have some good results,” Anderson said. “I’m sure it will be good. No matter what, it’s an honor to go and compete. Only eight [single/class A] teams in the whole state get to go, and we’re one of them.”