Boyd-Buchanan's Lydia Campbell wraps up a 3-over-par 75 to win the Region 3-A/AA golf tournament by seven strokes. Wednesday at Chatata Valley Golf Club in Cleveland, Tenn.CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Although the spotlight was shining brightly on Silverdale Baptist Academy's Elijah Kirk as he played his final hole Wednesday at Chatata Valley in the Region 3-A/AA high school golf tournament, it may have been a good thing the junior was completely in the dark.
Kirk's teammates gathered around the green at the par-4 No. 9 finishing hole, aware their No. 5 player needed a par for the Seahawks to capture the boys' team title, which comes with a berth in the state tournament. Kirk obliged as Silverdale earned its championship by one stroke over Boyd-Buchanan.
Led by girls' medalist Lydia Campbell, Boyd-Buchanan won the girls' team title. The Lady Buccaneers will make their seventh consecutive trip to the state tournament, which is Oct. 4-5 at WillowBrook in Manchester.
Campbell was medalist Monday on the same course in the District 5 tournament, as was boys' counterpart Dalton Sutton, who also won the individual region championship.
Kirk was on the green in two on the final hole, albeit about 30 feet away from the pin. But he got down in two putts, capping his unexpected but welcomed round of 82.
"I couldn't watch," Silverdale coach Michael Bales said of Kirk's work on the green. "He really hasn't done much the last half of the year. He played better in the first half. This golf course, he likes it. It's open. He can turn his driver loose, and he hit some beautiful shots today."
Sutton, a freshman, shot a par 72 after beating the district field with a 71. Playing the back nine first, Sutton made the turn Wednesday with consecutive birdies on holes Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
"That was huge," Sutton said. "That put me up on everybody in my group by two. I finished with a couple of bad bogeys, but it all worked out. I'm still happy with 35 on the back."
The 323-324 team loss was a heartbreaker for Boyd-Buchanan, which won the district team title. Lone senior Jake Campbell shot 74 at region and ended up tied with McMinn Central's John Houk for runner-up.
Both Campbell and Houk, who birdied the first playoff hole to edge Campbell for second place, advance to the state tournament as individuals. So will fourth-place finisher Hixson's Jared Thomas, the District 6 medalist Monday at Moccasin Bend.
But Campbell and the Bucs' had high hopes as a team.
"It hurts. It definitely hurts," said Campbell, who will be joined only by teammate Hayes Wood, who edged another Buc and fellow sophomore Riley Covington in a playoff for the fourth and final individual spot from the region in the state field.
Lydia, Jake's sophomore sister, shot 75 - three strokes better than her winning total Monday. With her score paired with teammate Zacori Hill's 86 for a six-shot win over Hixson, Lydia was hoping for a Boyd-Buchanan team sweep. Still, she believes her brother's mindset will be fine once he gets to WillowBrook.
"I'm really happy Jake is going to the state tournament his senior year. But I'm mad that he beat me by one stroke," she said playfully.
Lydia didn't have a birdie all day Wednesday, but she didn't need one.
"I had three bogeys and all pars on the rest of the holes," she said. "The back nine I was really happy with. I only had one bad hole. I didn't hit a good second shot."
That bad hole was a 6 on No. 12, but with McMinn Central's Mattie Cardin making 8 on the same hole, Lydia took charge from there. Cardin shot 82, ended up runner-up and is one of the individual girls advancing to the state tournament. Another is third-place finisher Macy Moses (83) of Sequoyah.
The others are Hixson teammates Ali Barker (83) and Haley Chaulker (84), who was the District 6 individual winner. Barker was district medalist the three previous years and is making her fourth appearance at state.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.