ORHS golf team kicks off 2022 season July 29
The TSSAA golf season is the first of the high school sports to get going in the new school year and the first to hold its postseason tournaments. The Oak Ridge High School Wildcats begin the 2022 campaign on Friday, July 29, at the 5-Star Preps Tournament at Three Ridges Golf Course. They end their season with the Region 2 Tournament on Monday, Sept. 26, at Green Meadow and the State Tournament at Sevierville Golf Club.
Longtime Robertsville Middle School Rams Athletic Director Scott Hinton takes the reins of the ORHS golf team this year after a long career as AD and girls basketball coach. He looks to raise the visibility and competitiveness of the program.
Hinton worked with the Lady Rams basketball team as an assistant under David Scott and then was head coach from 2006-2013, along the way coaching RMS greats such as Adrian Etheridge, Jennifer Hitchcock, Jessica Palmer, Savanna Nyholm, Whitney Mitchell, Kendra Holmes, Destiny Kassner, Courtney Ellison, and Mykia Dowdell during their middle school basketball careers. His roots in athletics run very deep. Hinton credits former ORHS basketball coach Chuck Carringer and multi-faceted ORHS and RMS coach David Scott with helping mold his coaching philosophy, offering that they “thought about more than just being a coach, but how to be a good husband, father, and role model.“ Hinton also praises his childhood friend Matt McMahon, head basketball coach at LSU, who, he says, “has always been a role model for me in how to do things both in and out of sports. I’m very grateful for Matt and his friendship, along with his guidance and encouragement through the years.”
Hinton will bring these values to the team as he begins to create a long-term program for ORHS Golf.
A lifelong golfer, Hinton describes high school golf as “a unique team sport” in that scoring relies on either four or five individual boys and either two or three individual girls to produce a low team score similar to cross country. The team held tryouts at the end of the last school year, so they were able to practice four times prior to the annual TSSAA Dead Period, and Hinton expresses optimism and ambition when talking about the upcoming season.
Top returner Jack Bentz, a sophomore, appeared in the Region 2 Tournament last year as a freshman and has had a formidable spring and summer season as a junior golfer, finishing second by one shot in a Sneds Tour 2-day Open at Tellico Village on Memorial Day weekend. Bentz also qualified for and participated in the prestigious Tennessee State Golf Association Junior Amateur June 28 through 30, posting a very respectable score of 7 over par in the 54-hole event and finishing tied for 28th out of 72 total participants. A clear No. 1, Bentz will look to sit near the top of the leader board.
Coach Hinton’s son Hunter, an incoming freshman, brings a good bit of experience to the team as a junior golfer in many state events. He also completed a successful middle school career, where he was the medalist and individual champion of the 2021 ETMSGA State Tournament as a seventh grader. He shot 73 in his final middle school tournament, winning the ETYGA individual title as an eighth grader. He won the Sneds Tour 2-day 14-u division open at Egwani Farms in late June and will be a key addition to the team.
Seniors Joey Weston and Eli Underwood will be key contributors and bring a ton of experience. Both seniors qualified for the Region tournament as sophomores when Oak Ridge was in District 3, so they bring some postseason experience. Hinton praises Weston as a good ball striker who hits it long and straight. He has the capability to shoot consistently in the upper 30s in 9-hole matches. Going into the season, he has mentioned that he wants to be more consistent with his short game and that is something he is focusing on.
“Elder statesman” Underwood has been on the team since he was a freshman and can hit the ball as far as anyone on the team. When he figures out where it’s going and tightens up his short game, he will be a force to reckon with.
Rounding out the top Oak Ridge players will be incoming freshman Lewis Niad, who has improved his game significantly and will provide great depth.
The girls team will be very “green” this year, built around learning the high school game, according to Hinton. Senior Haleigh West will lead the team, and sophomore Kiaya Barnes and freshmen transfer Kaedyn Hollander round out the small roster. Hinton says this young and inexperienced group is likely to improve rapidly.
Hinton has put together an extensive schedule for his golfers this year. All home matches will be at the Oak Ridge Country Club, and the team will visit the Tennessee National, Three Ridges, Green Meadow, and Egwani Farms, where the 'Cats co-host the annual Cats and Dogs tournament with Bearden High School. The Wildcats play exceptional teams in defending Division 1-A State Champion Kingston, defending Division II-A State Champion Christian Academy of Knoxville (CAK), along with District 4 foes Maryville, Bearden, Hardin Valley, Karns, William Blount, and South Doyle.
The main goal for this season is to make the Region Tournament as a team. Oak Ridge High School has never had a team qualify (individuals have, but not the team) for the region tournament so that’s been the team goal from Day One. District 4 is very tough with Maryville, Bearden, Farragut, Hardin Valley, and Oak Ridge all vying for the coveted Top 3 spots in the district tournament to advance to the region, so it won’t be easy. Hinton also says that he “feels good” about getting at least one player in the state tournament as an individual, which would be a huge accomplishment.
The Wildcats begin their 2022 season July 29 and 30 at the 5-Star Preps Tournament at Three Ridges Golf Course in North Knoxville.
Allen Etheridge is an english teacher and Sports Information and Assistant Athletic Director for Oak Ridge High School.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: ORHS Golf team kicks off 2022 season July 29
