news
Monroe Journal
AMORY - All of Amory's current golfers are too young to know exactly how many consecutive Division 2-3A Golf Tournaments the school has won.
With at least 12 straight championships, it's easier to say how many it has lost:
None.
Tuesday's tournament on the Panthers' home course at River Birch produced the same result, an 82-stroke victory against second place Winona, 320-402. Winona was five strokes better than third-place Houston, which shot a 407 at the 18-hole event.
The next step for Amory is an attempt to capture a third-consecutive MHSAA Class 3A state title, here on May 7-8.
"Being able to play the division on our home course, I think it will give us an advantage going into the state tournament, to shoot a good score," first-year Amory coach Bradley Parham said. "We did today."
Seniors Barrett Edens and Dane Christensen, medalists in the previous two state championships, led the way again Tuesday. Edens was the medalist with a 73. Christensen was one stroke back at 74, the only two scores in the 70s on the day.
Edens admits he wants another state title.
"As bad as I did the first two," he said. "I think we're ready."
Will Thompson shot an 84 and Ty Young an 89 to round out Amory's scores.
Thompson and Young are both seventh graders. Young, playing in only his fifth match of the season, changed his grip early on and looked Tuesday like he's using it to his advantage.
"Ty Young really played well today," Parham said. "If we can keep him under 90, we're extremely proud of him. Coach (Chris) McCrory has been working hard with him and he's done a really great job."
Parham knows what he's going to get from Edens, a Mississippi State signee and Christensen, a Utah Valley signee.
"They're consistent every day," he said. "We try to get them to shoot par or under every day. We're just making sure we keep them on pace to try to defend their state championships."
Christensen said a third title two weeks from now would be just as special as the others, perhaps even moreso.
"All of them are great," Christensen said. "Three in a row would be awesome, especially our senior year."
n Scores, Page 2B