The Lord Botetourt and James River golf teams will officially tee-off the 2024-25 school sports calendar next week and the highlight will be the annual Botetourt Metro Tournament at the Botetourt Golf & Swim Club. The one day event will open with a 10 a.m. start on Tuesday, August 6.
Both the Lord Botetourt and James River teams are figuring out their lineups this week for the early season event. It won’t be hard for Todd Smith at Lord Botetourt as he returns five starters from last year’s team. Seniors Aidan Mitchell, Jeremy Simmons and Hayden Firestone, junior Garrett Honts and sophomore Alisa Davidova all saw considerable playing time last year and should be ready for a great fall season. Seniors Ethan Taylor and Harper Lewis will compete for a spot, along with senior newcomer Blake Lovern.
“We are still doing tryouts this week, so I’m not sure who else will be playing in the top six,” said Smith. “I won’t know everybody that’s made the team until after Wednesday, but those should be solid.”
At James River, Donna Cox has somewhat of a rebuilding project.
“We have an extremely young team this year,” she said. “We will be led by sophomores Landon Bolling and Mason Gilliland. Rounding out the top four will be sophomore Mason Francis and freshman Elizabeth Johnson.”
River will open Monday with a match at Alleghany, then head to Olde Mill on Thursday of next week for a match hosted by Carroll County. Botetourt will have a week off after the Metro, teeing it up on August 13 at Ole Monterey in a Blue Ridge District event hosted by William Fleming.
