Jamestown golf wins first Bay RIvers District match of season

By John Harvey

HarveySports757@yahoo.com

Matthew Shield hot a 77 on Monday.

JAMES CITY – Jamestown High’s golf team began its quest for another Bay Rivers District golf championship Monday afternoon with a victory at Williamsburg National Golf Club.

The Eagles (320) had four golfers shoot rounds of 82 or better on the Yorktown Course to edge New Kent (329) by nine strokes. Lafayette (334) was third, followed by Smithfield (361), Warhill (384), Tabb (387), Grafton (395), York (409), Poquoson (415) and Bruton.

“A win today, but we have a lot of work to do to be more competitive moving forward,” said Jamestown coach Doug Meredith.

Junior Matthew Shield played No.2 for the Eagles and finished third overall with a core of 77. “I think I did okay, but I feel I could’ve done better,” Shield said. “We just have to keep our focus on the main goal, which is to shoot low and win matches. Today was a success, but we still have a lot to work on.”

Sophomore William Bell finished fifth with a score of 79. Senior Dan Kelly and junior C.J. Montero carded rounds of 82 to finish tied for seventh place. Austin West (86) and Alex Akins (88) also represented Jamestown.

William Bell shot a 79 for Jamestown.

The Eagles were playing without one of its top golfers, Emily Salamy on Monday. The all-state golfer was participating in the Peggy Kirk Golf Tour tournament in North Carolina.

Shield believes his team can play better. “Even without Emily, we still had high expectations and the next match, when she’s here, we should do better.”

New Kent produced the two best rounds of the day. Parker Wallace carded a 2-over-par 73 to earn medalist honors. Teammate Cole Hitchcock finished second with a 76. Cole Baldwin finished with an 86, followed by Austin Pierce (94), Jackson Gray (95) and Bryce Paige (99).

Tawni Hatcher shot a 78 for Lafayette.

Lafayette also had a strong day, despite fielding a fairly inexperienced squad. Tawni Hatcher, a three-year starter, finished fourth with a score of 78. Jacob Smethurst carded an 81 for the Rams, followed by Jordan Olsen (87), Conor Flannery (88), Jake Clark (89) and Logan Smith (113).

Warhill showed vast improvement from last year, placing fifth in their opening round match. Bryce Parker led the Lions with a round of 89. Peter Conway shot a 93, followed by Austin Beaulieu (95), Evan Kerr (107), Ryan Creecy (111) and Chris Humphries (118).

Wyatt Baldasare paced Bruton with a score of 98. Freshman Dylan Jenkins finished with a 101, flowed by Jacob Cook (104), Zack Calloway (116) and Renard Wallace (136).

The 10 district teams will be back in action Thursday when they play at Royal New Kent Golf Club in New Kent. Tee time is 10 a.m.

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