The high school golf season officially opened Monday and both James River and Lord Botetourt were in action. River had a match in Covington while the Cavaliers teed off in Lynchburg.
Lord Botetourt shot a team score of 346 to finish in a tie for seventh at the season opening John Scott Heritage Invitational golf tournament Monday. The annual tournament, named for long-time Heritage High athletic director John Scott, is held at the London Downs course in Lynchburg.
Salem High won the tournament with a score of 302 and Spartan sophomore Kathryn Ha was medalist with a three under par 69. Blacksburg was second at 305 and Western Albemarle took third at 317.
LB’s low score was a 79 by Cadyn Bowles. Next was Xavier Shelton at 83, followed by Hunter Duncan with a 90 and two Cavaliers tied for fourth best with 94, Tyler Meade and Kasey Davis. Ashton Harper, LB’s normal number one player, did not play due to a prior commitment as he was playing in a tournament in Kentucky.
Next up for the Cavaliers will be the Botetourt Metro at the Botetourt Golf & Swim Club next Tuesday, August 9. That will include most area teams, including LB and James River, and tournament director Jeff Sprinkle has also invited some other strong teams from around the state to make for the best competition possible.
The tournament is a one-day affair and replaces the long-time Bob McLelland Metro Tournament, which was discontinued during the COVID pandemic.
James River opened a busy schedule Monday with a match at Cliff View in Covington. Ryan Steger led the Knights with a 79, followed by Haden Parker at 80. Rounding out the River scoring were Dylan Hicks at 86 and Sam Bell at 88 for a team score of 333.
“The top four all did a great job,” said River coach Donna Cox.
The Knights are at the Olde Mill course on Thursday for a match hosted by Carroll County, then play Radford’s River Course next Monday before coming back a day later to play in the Botetourt Metro.