BHS Golf Team Wins Regional Tourney
By Julie Perine on September 29, 2014 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
With a score of 230, the Bridgeport High School Golf Team swept today’s Class AA Region II tournament in Moorefield. Philip Barbour took second place with a 249 and Grafton was a close third with 250.
Shooting a 72, the Indians' Mason Williams was low medalist, followed by Austin Williams with 78, Marco Oliverio with 80 and Ben Smith with 94.
Also playing in today's regionals at Valley View in Moorefield were Berkeley Springs, Frankfort, Keyser, Liberty, Lincoln, Petersburg and Robert C. Byrd.
The Tribe advances to the state tournament next week at Oglebay Park in Wheeling.
“The boys were real excited and they played well when we needed to,” said Coach Fred Wilhelm. “It was a big one – the qualifier for states and they pulled through.”
The Tribe not only pulled through. They won by 19 strokes.
“Mason was a big part of that – shooting a 72, one over par – and Austin shot a 78, with a 37 on the front,” Wilhelm said.
Not only low medalist for the Indians, but outscoring every other golfer in the tournament, freshman Mason Williams said he felt good going in today.
“Before we got started, I had a lot of energy and I was ready to go,” he said. “Once we got started I felt good about how it was going.”
He shot three birdies, two bogeys and a double.
“The double hurt because it was on my 14th hole and I was even going into that hole,” he said. “I made another birdie coming down the stretch though which helped a lot.”
Austin Williams was the tournament’s no. 2 player.
“I got off to a rough start today. I double bogeyed my first hole and bogeyed my second. After that I had several pars,” he said. “I hit the ball pretty well today, but couldn’t make the putts I needed to make. I am just happy the others on my team had scores to help us win.”
Wilhelm said Oliverio played well, with just two or three bad holes, but shooting well on the back course. Individually, he tied for third place in the tournament.
But Oliverio said he didn’t play his best and for whatever reason –he typically struggles on courses such as Valley View, which are wide open and short. As a rule, he plays better on courses which are long and tight featuring tree-lined fairways. Oglebay Park has a little bit of everything, he said. He feels his team is in a good position to do well at states.
“Last year, we didn’t have a solid team, but this year we actually have a chance of winning,” Oliverio said. “Last year, we basically had only two players, but this year we have a solid four. We should be competitive at states.”
Wilhelm said he’s proud of his team and looks forward to playing at Oglebay Park next week. Practice round is Monday and tournament play is Tuesday and Wednesday.
“If we play the way we did today, I don’t see a reason why we wouldn’t have a good shot at winning,” Mason Williams said. “I’m confident that if I do my part, the rest of the team will do theirs too.”
Austin Williams said winning the state title his senior year would be incredible.
“That’s been the goal of our team since the beginning of the year,” he said. “We have four or five good players on our team and if we can maintain our focus and control, we have just as good a shot as any team there.”
