Staff Photo by Robin Rudd Baylor's Sam Marshall, shown here chipping onto the 18th green in the City Prep golf tournament at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, shot a 2-under par 70 on Tuesday in the Division II-AA state tournament at WillowBrook in Manchester.MANCHESTER, Tenn. - Baylor's Sam Marshall had the best showing from the Chattanooga area with his runner-up finish in the boys' portion of the TSSAA Division II-AA state golf tournament, which concluded Tuesday. But the spotlight in the two-day tournament at WillowBrook in Manchester shined brightest on St. Agnes's Rachel Heck and the boys from Memphis University School.
Heck, a freshman, set a state-tournament record for the lowest 36-hole score with her 10-under par 134 on the way to becoming girls' medalist. She teamed with her senior sister and runner-up, Abby, a Notre Dame commitment, for a 5-under 283 and St. Agnes finished 32 strokes ahead of second-place team Ensworth.
Walker Crosby totaled 2-over 146, tying for sixth individually, and his was the lowest counting score for MUS. The Owls, led by medalist Goodman Rudolph's 141, shot even-par as a team and their 576 outdistanced runners-up Baylor and Montgomery Bell Academy by 23 shots.
Marshall, a junior, backed his first-day 73 with a 2-under 70 and ended up under par for the tournament - two strokes behind Rudoplph.
"When he gets an opportunity, he takes advantage of it," Baylor coach Gary Partrick said. "He's been that way for three years. He's progressively gotten better every year. He doesn't make many mistakes, and he's a timely putter."
Senior teammate A.J. Lintunen was in second after shooting 70 on Monday. He shot 74 in the second round and tied for third.
"Putts didn't fall," Partrick said. "He didn't hit it bad at all. He had a lot of 10- to 15-footers for birdie and just didn't make them."
Partrick said the Red Raiders set the goal of shooting 295 in the second round and that's exactly what they totaled. MUS was only three shots better on the day.
"For as young a team as we have and as many new members as we have," Partrick said, "it was just a really enjoyable season."
The highest-finishing local girl was GPS's McKenzie Frizzell, who ended up eighth with 163.
"I was very proud of her, having a finish like that in a field this strong," GPS and McCallie coach Rob Riddle said. "She was just very scrappy."
Her score, combined with fellow junior Hannah Prescott's, gave the Bruisers 334 and tied them for third with Harpeth Hall.
Baylor's girls, led by senior Danielle Bates (165), who tied for 10th individually, ended up fifth overall. The other team members were eighth-grader Kelsey Hodge, whose second round was seven shots better than her first, and senior Page Wallace.
"To have a first-year senior, an eighth-grader and Danielle," Partrick said, "it was a pretty good year for us."
Sixth-place McCallie was led by eighth-grader Joe Carter's 154, good for 20th-place individually.
"There was a lot of growing up, and a lot of growing pains," Riddle said of his young Blue Tornado team. "I wasn't disappointed. They got there."
McCallie did not have a senior in the tournament and Scottie Sandlin was the only senior for GPS.
"We're going to have experience," Riddle said of his two teams. "We're not going to be able to have any excuses about being young (next year). I think everybody's excited about it. They've just got to realize that the season doesn't start in July. It starts in October. They're going to have to work hard and do the things they need to do to get ready for next year's season."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.