Repeat champion
- Updated: May 14, 2019
Donoho’s LeCroy repeats as state medalist; Donoho second, White Plains third in respective classes
By East Alabama Sports Today
PRATTVILLE — Jacob LeCroy stood on the first tee Tuesday as comfortable at the start of a tournament round as he’s been in a long time.
The Donoho senior was one shot off the lead after a tough day on the greens in the opening round and his team was within striking distance of a state title repeat.
When LeCroy birdied two of his first four holes “I knew it was going to be a pretty good day after that.”
LeCroy shot 2-under-par 70 in the final round for a 2-over 146 total and won medalist honors in Class 1A-2A for the second year in a row. But the Falcons just weren’t deep enough to keep up with North Sand Mountain and finished second in the team race.
A year ago LeCroy had to run down his competition to win the individual title for the first time. This year he just had to be steady and better speed control on the greens helped him do that Tuesday. He won by two shots over first-round leader Codey Cleveland of Red Bay.
“I was pretty confident going into today because I played really good yesterday and I didn’t putt very well at all,” LeCroy said. “It wasn’t necessarily my putting, it was more along the lines of my speed control. That’s the only thing I really worked on this morning.”
Although he was chasing an individual title in his final high school tournament LeCroy was playing for the team all day. It was only when he got to 17 and the team race was effectively decided did he look towards his position on the individual leaderboard.
With a birdie at 17 – he lipped out for eagle on the par-5 – his lead was two, and he finished off the victory with a short par putt on the final hole of his high school career.
“It was very exciting,” he said. “I was happy to get the win. I went back to back that was definitely a goal before the season even started, to be able to get out and defend. I was happy I could do that.”
Donoho shot 725 as a team for two days and finished 15 shots behind North Sand Mountain. Brantley was third at 797.
In addition to LeCroy’s 70, the Falcons also counted 81 from Harrison Hughston, 89 from Holden Abernathy and 118 from Sam Payne in the final round. Hughston finished tied for fourth individually and Abernathy was tenth.
Class 4A Boys
All three of White Plains’ top three finishers improved over their opening-round scores, but the Wildcats didn’t have enough to catch the shootout between champion Brooks and Providence Christian at the top.
Brooks posted four scores 80 or better for a 313 and edged Providence Christian by one shot. PC medalist Thomas Ponder missed a birdie putt on 18 for an eighth birdie and 64 that would have tied the team race.
“Brooks had a few seniors on it who really played with a sense of urgency,” White Plains coach Chris Randall said. “You could tell it was their shot at it and they just showed a lot of poise and a lot of confidence under pressure. It was a wonderful tournament to watch down the stretch between Providence and Brooks.”
The Wildcats posted 319 for the day. Kenny Okins shot a final-round 76 and finished tied for fifth. Gage Miller was 11th after a 79, and Andrew Miller was tied for 12th after a 79.
“We always want them to finish,” Randall said. “We want people to think of us as grinders, that we never give up on a round, we can always turn it around and can always finish strong. I thought they really believed that and acted that way today.”
The Wildcats finished the year with eight tournament victories and a bright future with four of their top five returning.
“We learned a lot,” Randall said. “We’ll do some things different, make some things tougher on us during the regular season and hopefully we’ll have a chance to earn our way back and win it at Mobile. Tough loss, but we learned a lot.”
It’d be difficult to schedule any tougher a schedule than the Wildcats played, but what they’re considering is playing the ball down more and at longer distances.
Class 4A-5A Girls
White Plains junior Hanna Dyar made a nine-shot improvement over her opening-round score, shot 75 with four birdies in her first 15 holes, and finished sixth individually in Class 4A-5A girls.
“Putting was definitely the difference,” she said. “I had tons of birdie putts yesterday, but today a few of them fell.”
The key was hitting her approach shots inside the length of the flagstick, a tip she picked up playing with Randolph’s Michaela Morard, who shot 66 Tuesday to win the individual title.
“I just got up on the tee box this morning with a lot of confidence,” she said. “Yesterday I wasn’t nervous at all, I was just mis-hitting the ball. I didn’t get off the tee very well. Today, it was a good day. It gives me a lot of momentum for the summer and for next year, and I’m really excited because I know our team is going to be really strong next year and they’re going to be down here with me.”
CLASS 1A-2A BOYS
North Sand Mountain 361-349—710
Donoho 367-358—725
Brantley 416-381—797
Individual Top 10
Jacob LeCroy, Donoho 76-70—146
Cody Cleveland, Red Bay 75-73—148
Nick Sawyer, Cedar Bluff 78-73—151
Harrison Hughston, Donoho 78-81—159
Steven Ikner, JU Blacksher 82-77—159
Logan Maddox, Marion County 82-81—163
Hunter Vest, NSM 86-81—167
Charlie Faler, Southeastern 90-83—173
Jordan Moon, NSM 89-86—175
Holden Abernathy, Donoho 89-89—178
CLASS 4A BOYS
Brooks 319-313—632
Providence Christian 318-315—633
White Plains 330-319—649
Fayette County 347-347—694
Individual Top 10
Thomas Ponder, PC 68-65—133
Will Patrick, Oneonta 72-68—140
Davis Aaron, American Chr 75-76—151
Zach Ashley, Brooks 76-79—155
Justin Olive, Brooks 81-75—156
Kenny Okins, White Plains 80-76—156
Dax Holland-Weed, PC 75-82—157
Grant Smith, Montgomery Catholic 79-78—157
Teagan Miller, Madison Acad 78-80—158
Noah Scott, Fayette County 78-82-160
Gage Miller, White Plains 82-79—161
Andrew Miller, White Plains 84-79-163
CLASS 4A-5A GIRLS
Randolph 232-223—455
Northside 239-226—465
Trinity 249-256—505
Arab 261-263—524
Individual Top 10
Michaela Morard, Randolph 69-66—135
Erika Allen, Northside 75-71—146
Karlee Allen, Northside 78-76—154
Emma Pittman, Trinity 81-74—155
Bella Duesing, Randolph 80-78—158
Hanna Dyar, White Plains 84-75—159
Caroline Webb, Demopolis 79-82—161
Virginia Anne Holmes, Trinity 75-87—162
Ashlee Allen, Northside 86-79—165
Robyn Blakey, Leeds 83-82—165
You must be logged in to post a comment Login