Tigers qualify for second consecutive state tournament, wins Region IV golf championship

 For the second consecutive season, the Chapmanville Tigers will play in the state golf tournament after capturing the Class AAA Region IV championship Monday at the Big Bend Golf Course. Pictured from left are Justus Mann, Cooper Evans, assistant coach Michael Veres, head coach John Evans, Gavin Stollings and Cameron Wooten (Picture courtesy of Lisa Bryant)

Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports

TORNADO The Chapmanville Tigers golf team has put together an impressive season following a third-place finish in last year’s West Virginia high school golf state tournament.

The Tigers squad won eight of its 15 regular season matches this season, finished second in three other matches and had two additional finishes of third place.

Monday at the Big Bend Golf Course, the Tigers added to those totals with a ninth victory claiming the Class AAA Region IV championship and advancing to next week’s state golf tournament for a second consecutive season, a fourth time since 2017 and a fifth time since 2011.

Chapmanville shot a team round of 214, and was eight shots in front of runner-up Winfield, who shot a 222 to outdistance third place Point Pleasant by seven shots and will join the Tigers in next week’s state tournament to be played October 14-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at the Speidel Golf Club at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling.

Senior Justus Mann, one of four golfers under par, had the low round of the day for the Tigers shooting a 3-under 68 to claim individual medalist honors.

Mann, who finished sixth individually in last year’s state tournament, finished one shot than Point Pleasant’s Jake Lilly, who fired a 69.

Through the first nine holes, Lilly posted a 2-under 34 after an eagle on the fifth hole and a birdie on the sixth hole, matching Mann, who birdied the fifth, sixth and seventh holes.

The back nine was just as entertaining as the front nine as Lilly and Mann battled for the lead.

Lilly started the back with an eagle on the par-five 10th while Mann started with birdie-birdie on the 10^th and 11^th to even the match at 4-under.

Mann would double bogey the par four 13^th and fell two shots back of Lilly, who gave one shot back to Mann after a bogey on the 14^th, which was followed by a triple-bogey on the 15^th to hand Mann a 2-shot lead with four holes to play.

Lilly never recovered for the disastrous 15^th hole as Mann birdied the 16^th and 17^th holes and pared the 18^th to claim the outright victory.

Winfield’s Gavin Martin and Chapmanville’s Gavin Stollings each shot a 1-under par 70 to tie for third. At one point, Stollings was 5-under par after an eagle on hole 10, his second eagle of the day after his first on the sixth hole, but shot a 4-over par on the remaining seven holes to fall into a third-place tie.

Winfield’s Lucas Hall shot a 75 to finish fifth, Chapmanville’s Cameron Wooten was sixth with a 76, Winfield’s Owen Taylor (77) and teammate Jackson Webb (78) was seventh and eighth respectively with Point Pleasant’s Talan Pearson (79) ninth and Chapmanville’s Cooper Evans (80) rounding out the top 10.

Lilly and Pearson posted the two lowest rounds of golfers not on the regional champion or runner-up to qualify for the state tournament as individuals.

St. Albans (255) finished fourth in the team standings followed by South Charleston (273) and Spring Valley (273), who tied for fifth. Nitro (276) finished seventh and Lincoln County (286) was eighth.

Joining Chapmanville and Winfield in the eight-team Class AAA field will be Region I champion John Marshall and runner-up Fairmont Senior, Region II champion Bridgeport and runner-up Hampshire and Region III champion and last year’s Class AA champion Shady Spring and runner-up Princeton.

PHOTO | Lisa Bryant