The three Marshall County high school golf squads squared off in the 8th Annual Gary Wells Cup to kick off the prep season with Forrest sweeping the three-day event for the first time.

“It couldn’t be more proud of these kids, they put in the hard work and they put in the effort,” Forrest coach Andy Burkett said. “They come to the course every single day for practice ready to get better and not only that, they compete amongst themselves as well to get better too, so as a coach I could not be more proud of them.”

The Rockets took an early 31-stroke lead on day one at the Buford Ellington Golf Course inside Henry Horton State Park and backed the big lead up with two solid rounds at the Ewell Butler Golf Course in Lewisburg to beat defending champion Cornersville 565-605.

“The thing I’m must impressed with them is we took care of business on our home course, I knew we were going to play well at Horton for the most part, but for them to come out here two days in a row at the Rec Center and go shot for shot with Cornersville on their home course is what I’m most impressed with.”

“The main thing with my guys is I’ve seen them put the hard work in and put their time in to get better and better and in the past two years to see them shoot the way they do and all improve is what I am most proud of.”

Senior lefty Connor Lewis led the way for the Rockets, shooting (47, 44, 45) for a 136 three-day total while classmate Hunter Ferguson was one stroke behind at 137 (45, 44, 48).

Cornersville’s number one player Joseph Mulliniks led the Bulldogs in scoring all three days as he posted a 47 at Henry Horton and came back with a 42 on the 5,733 yard Ewell Butler track on Tuesday before finishing with a 48 in his backyard at the Rec Center in Wednesday’s final round to capture the coveted Jeff Jones low medal award, just one stroke clear of Lewis at 135.

“Joseph is a great kid, if you ever get an opportunity to talk to him he is an awesome kid, he is very humble,” Burkett said. “I have seen him working privately on the range at Horton and he is the kind of person that wants to be good and wants to be great, so to see him come out here and win the Jeff Jones Award for Cornersville is just awesome for him, I am proud of him.”

Senior Spence Oliver and Sophomore Bryson Smith were solid the entire tournament for the Rockets with Oliver shooting (50, 46, 48) for a 144 total and Smith carded rounds of (48, 50, 49) to finish at 147.

Hayden Duke and Zak Holder played well for the Bulldogs in the number two and three spots with Duke carding rounds of (57, 42, 48) for a 147 while Holder battled his way with (53, 49, 52) to finish at 154.

The top four boys’ scores are used for each day’s total and the top two scores are used for the girls.

Unfortunately, the Marshall County Tigers only fielded three players in the tournament and the six time Wells Cup winners and two-time state champions did not qualify to compete for the award.

Walker Whaley led the Tigers in scoring with a three-day total of 155 (58, 48, 49) and Bryson Whaley was just behind his brother as he posted scores of (56, 50, 53) for a 159 aggregate score.

Mason Collins had a 57 for the Tigers on Monday at Henry Horton and had a 58 and a 52 at the Rec Center for a three-day total of 167.

The girls’ match was neck-and-neck all three days as Cornersville won day one 99-106 and Forrest took day two 88-95 to tie the match at 194, going in to Wednesday’s final round at Ewell Butler.

The Lady Rockets’ sister duo of Sara and Maggie Browning came through in the clutch as senior Sara posted the low score of the tournament with a 40 and eighth-grader Maggie came to the Rec Center clubhouse in 48 strokes as Forrest retained the Wells Cup for the third season in a row.

“That is just a testament of the perseverance and resilience that our girls’ team have,” Burkett said. “After the first day they were down by seven strokes, they were make up all seven of those on day two and they were able to take the outright lead on day three.”

“You try to coach determination and you try to coach perseverance as far as your players are concerned and to see that happen for us, especially for little Maggie Browning being an eighth-grader coming through clutch two days in a row with two good scores in the forties, so I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Sara Browning, a 2018-219 TSSAA state tournament qualifier, claimed low medalist honors for the second year in a row with a three-day total of 128 (46, 42, 40).

“Sara is continuing her legacy as one of the most dominate players ever here at Forrest,” Burkett said. “She puts in the hard work, she puts in the time, puts in the dedication and you can see it whenever she wins back-to-back Player of the Year in the Wells Cup.”

Cornersville’s Braylin Powers was second medalist as she posted scores of (55, 46, 460 for a 147 total while teammate Chelsea Coble was one stroke behind at 148 (48, 49, 51).

McKinley Richardson teed it as the first Tigerette golfer in quite a while and posted respectable scores of (58, 63, 58) for a three-day total of 179.

Day 1

Monday, July 29

Buford Ellington Golf Course

Henry Horton State Park

Boys

Forrest (192): Hunter Ferguson (45), Connor Lewis (47), Bryson Smith (48), Sebastian Thompson (50), Spence Oliver (50), Carter Jones (52), John Garcia (52).

Cornersville (223): Joseph Mulliniks (47), Zak Holder (53), Hayden Duke (57), Micah Riddle (66), Caden Downs (67).

Marshall County: Bryson Whaley (56), Mason Collins (57), Walker Whaley (58).

Girls

Cornersville (99): Chelsea Coble (48), Kaitlin Garner (51), Braylin Powers (55), Annabelle Mulliniks (57).

Forrest (106): Sara Browning (46), Maggie Browning (60), Kaitlin Leverette (65), Ryann Lewis (69).

Marshall County: McKinley Richardson (58).

Day 2

Ewell Butler Golf Course

Lewisburg Recreation Center

Day 2 Standings

Boys: Forrest 376, Cornersville 406.

Boys

Cornersville (183): Joseph Mulliniks (42), Hayden Duke (42), Zak Holder (49), Micah Riddle (50), Caden Downs (64), Cade Adcox (72).

Forrest (184): Hunter Ferguson (44), Conner Lewis (44), Spence Oliver (46), Bryson Smith (50), Sebastian Thompson (52), Carter Jones (52), John Garcia (55), Garner Brookshier (62).

Marshall County: Walker Whaley (48), Bryson Whaley (50), Mason Collins (58).

Girls

Day 2 Standings

Cornersville 194, Forrest 194.

Forrest (88): Sara Browning (42), Maggie Browning (48), Ryann Lewis (61), Kaitlin Leverette (68).

Cornersville (95): Braylin Powers (46), Annabelle Mulliniks (48), Chelsea Coble (49), Kaitlin Garner (54).

Marshall County: McKinley Richardson (63).

Day 3

Ewell Butler Golf Course

Lewisburg Recreation Center

Final Standings

Boys: Forrest 565, Cornersville 605.

Forrest (189): Conner Lewis (45), Hunter Ferguson (48), Spence Oliver (48), Sebastian Thompson (48), Bryson Smith (49), John Garcia (49), Carter Jones (50), Garner Brookshier (52).

Cornersville (199): Joseph Mulliniks (46), Hayden Duke (48), Zak Holder (52), Micah Riddle (53), Caden Downs (57).

Marshall County: Walker Whaley (49), Mason Collins (52), Bryson Whaley (53).

Girls

Forrest 283, Cornersville 291.

Forrest (89): Sara Browning (40), Maggie Browning (49), Ally Blanton (56), Kaitlin Leverette (60), Ryann Lewis (61).

Cornersville (97): Braylin Powers (46), Chelsea Coble (51), Annabelle Mulliniks (51), Kaitlin Garner (52).

Marshall County: McKinley Richardson (58).