Ryder Pierce followed some familiar footsteps.
Pierce was the District 6-A/AA golf medalist Monday two years after his older brother, Player Pierce, was a district winner.
"My older brother did it, so I wanted to live up to what he did and not look bad," the sophomore said. "I've been working all year and looking forward to this district championship and to winning it."
The younger Pierce shot a 6-over-par 78 at Moccasin Bend Golf Course to help his Red Bank team advance to the Region 3 tournament Thursday at Valleybrook.
"I was able to keep my composure and I was able to bounce back from my bad holes," said Pierce, who had two birdies and three double-bogeys. "Not turning those bad holes into triples was pretty important."
East Hamilton won the team championship at 335, followed by Hixson at 355 and Red Bank at 376. Those teams will face the top three teams from District 5-A/AA at Valleybrook, where the winner will advance to the state championship.
"Our scores were pretty consistent, and that's about average for what our kids have done this year," East Hamilton coach Jeff Stetzler said. "We'll need to play a little better to get past the next step of region."
East/Middle Region: The Baylor girls' team is heading back to the Division II state tournament to defend its title.
"This was a good day for our girls because all three played really well," coach Gary Partrick said. "We felt like it was pretty balanced going in, but we won by 21 shots. It's a great momentum builder heading into state championship next week."
The Lady Raiders shot a 4-over 146 at Bear Trace at Tims Ford with Emily Javadi earning medalist honors in a playoff after shooting even-par 71 over 18 holes.
Ensworth won the boys' team title with a 292. It was followed by Brentwood Academy and then McCallie and Baylor. All four of those teams will play in the state event next week at Willowbrook Golf Club in Manchester.
McCallie shot a 302 with senior Patrick Clossin finishing third in the medalist race. Baylor's 303 was led by Blake Maum's 72.
"I was nervous hanging out around the last three holes," McCallie coach Tony Meyers said. "I was having to do some math on the course, and I was just hoping we'd advance. There were some anxious moments there."
District 5-A/AA: At Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Polk County won its second district championship in school history Monday.
The Polk boys will play Thursday at Valleybrook for a trip to their first state championship event. They combined to shoot 334 to beat McMinn Central by 13 shots and Boyd-Buchanan by 19.
"We know we had a good tournament today, but our main objective was getting to Thursday," Wildcats coach Jason Adams said. "I told the guys, 'Don't let a bogey turn into a double, don't be a hero and be smart off the tee.' They did that.
"They know they can play better, and Thursday is big."
McMinn Central won the girls' championship with a 193, followed by Boyd-Buchanan at 197 and Polk at 198.
District 7-A/AA: At Willowbrook, Signal Mountain had the top three girls' scores in winning the championship.
Haley Davidson won medalist honors with an 81 and was followed by teammates Sarah Dolmovich at 85 and Andi Fisher at 86. With a win next Monday in the Region 4 tournament, the Eagles will be poised to defend their 2009 state championship. Notre Dame finished second at 191 with Chattanooga Christian finishing third at 202.
"All we wanted to do was put ourselves in position to go back to state, and we did that," Signal coach Wes Moore said. "They have a lot of confidence now. They all put it together today, and everything they've done from weights and conditioning paid off. The results show it."
Led by a 75 from medalist Todd Krum, Notre Dame won the boys' championship with a 318. Signal Mountain was second at 336 with Grundy County third at 345.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchSports.