AP Boys Lead The Way At Districts

Greg Gentry raised his game to a level not even the wind could touch during Monday's Class 1A District 16 tournament at The Links at Greenfield Plantation in Bradenton.

The sophomore earned district medalist honors with a 74, while teammate and junior John Tracey fired a 75 to pace the field and lead the Avon Park boys golf team to a second-place finish at districts and a ticket to next week's regional tournament.

"I would've had a hard time shooting 75 out there today," said Avon Park coach and reigning Highlands County Amateur champion Bobby Barben. "The wind was screaming and the course played very hard. I can't begin to tell you how hard it played."

Junior Evan Danzey played the last five holes at two-under par to come in with a clutch 81, while Clay Davis carded a solid 84 to round out the Red Devils' score of 314, just behind district-champion Cardinal Mooney's score of 303.

"We played awful well and I was very impressed today," said Barben, whose team will take to The Links once again next week for regionals. "We'll try to stay fresh this week and work on some short-game stuff. But if we don't have it by now, we're not going to find it between now and then."

Barben, who called Tracey's second-place performance "huge" said the windy conditions didn't bother Gentry as much as the other 49 golfers who teed it up.

"For people like Greg who hit it straight, it's one thing," Barben said. "But if you hit it sideways, it's tough."

The Red Devils weren't the only team celebrating on Monday: The Sebring girls golf team, led by senior Priscilla Adams' 89 and junior Camiel White's 90, cruised to a second-place finish at the Class 2A District 9 tournament at Bartow golf course.

The Blue Streaks' team score of 386 was good enough to advance the team to regionals, which tee off Oct. 21 at The Country Club at Deer Run in Lake Howell (Winter Park).

Freshman Lindsey Lovett shot a 101 and Savanah Fisher fired a 112 to round out the Blue Streaks' scoring. George Jenkins won the district title with a 379, with medalist honors going to Jenkins' Anna Hancock (75).

"Making regionals was one of our main goals this year, and it's exciting to see the girls do well," said Sebring coach Jeff Hendges. "They've worked very hard this year and deserve to advance."

The Sebring boys also played well enough on Monday to add another week to their season: Senior Zach Foster fired a 78 and junior Blake Liles carded an 80 to lead the Blue Streaks to a third-place finish a the Class 2A District 9 tournament at Imperial Lakes country club in Lakeland.

"It was windy," said Sebring coach Vince Liles, whose team braved 30 mile-per-hour winds on every hole. "There were some high scores and only five scores in the 70s (out of 60 players)."

Sophomore Sean Garner shot an 82 and senior John Vicker fired an 87 to round out Sebring's score of 327, just behind second-place Bartow (323) and district champion Lakeland (319). George Jenkins' Case Gard won medalist honors with a 75.

The Streaks head to Wekiva country club in Orlando for next week's regional tournament.

Lake Placid's boys golf team saw its season come to a close at the 1A-D16 tournament at The Links.

Junior Kyle Thompson led the way with an 87, followed by junior Korey Cooke (99), senior Carl Smith (99) and senior Jeffery Jernigan (123) for a team score of 404.

"It was very windy, and with lots of water, it made it real tough to play," said Lake Placid coach Dan Coomes. "The kids did the best they could."

The Lake Placid and Avon Park girls teams were in action for district tourneys on Tuesday. See Thursday's Highlands Today for complete coverage.