Savannah Christian's girls golf team, Richmond Hill's Hannah Barrett collect state crowns

Richmond Hill junior Hannah Barrett completed her first high school year in Georgia with the GHSA Class 6A individual state girls golf championship Tuesday on Jekyll Island.

Meanwhile in Acworth, Annie Keller added to her legacy at Savannah Christian, which captured the third state title in girls program history.

"I was on the team in 2006, so I've won it as a player. This is my first time winning it as a coach," said Keller, the Raiders girls and boys golf coach.

Savannah Christian, led by standout Mary Miller's second-place individual finish at 12-under par (65-67) in the two-day tournament, left Governor's Towne Club in Acworth with the Class A Private team crown.

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About the only obstacle left was getting stuck in rush-hour traffic in Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon. The team kept the heavy trophy buckled securely in the middle seat of the SUV on the long drive home to Savannah.

"It's a worthy sacrifice we will make," Keller said of traffic gridlock.

The Raiders, who won state in Class 2A in 2006 and Class A in 2010, entered the day at even par, one stroke behind The Walker School of Marietta.

"We knew our games and how we were going to play," said Miller, a sophomore. "At the end of the day, if that wasn't good enough, then that's that. That's all we can ask of ourselves is to play our best."

Miller had her own challenge to improve on her second-place finish in 2021, when she competed as an individual. On Monday, she carded a 7-under 65 but was four strokes off the lead.

Darlington's Ther Kotchasanmanee, playing in Miller's group, had seven straight birdies en route to a 29 on the front nine and an 11-under 61 for the first round.

Kotchasanmanee followed with a 66 on Tuesday to win state at 17-under. Miller shot 67 and felt she played "pretty solid" for two days.

"It was fun," Miller said.

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"We were super excited to watch her today and she battled it out and really put in some hard work and kept her mental game strong," Keller said. "We're super proud of her."

It takes two golfers in Class A to score for a team title, and freshman Ava Cottis came through with 79-79 to tie for ninth at 14-over with Savannah Country Day's Bryn Sorge (75-83), who had qualified for state as an individual. Raiders freshman Rylan Hurd finished 25th (+53).

"We knew we had to put in some work today," Keller said. "So thankfully Mary went low today and Ava kept with her consistent 79, which helped us beat The Walker School by seven strokes today."

SCPS finished at 2-over, while Walker was 9-over and Darlington was third at 18-over. St. Vincent's Academy was 11th at 111-over.

Miller said the team didn't know where it stood until she came in as part of the last group of the day and the scores were totaled.

"It was really cool," Miller said.

Welcome to the Peach State

While Miller had history at the state tournament, Richmond Hill's Barrett had no experience in Georgia and no expectations.

"I didn't think I would win at all," Barrett said. "It's really been a dream of mine to win a state championship."

She moved last July to Richmond Hill from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She said she had finished second in a Class 3A district tournament in Pennsylvania.

Now a junior, she was familiar with Jekyll Island Golf Club, having carded a season-best 73 in the regular season. However, that was at the Pine Lakes Course, and the boys Class 6A state tournament was played there. The girls were at the Indian Mound Course.

Jacob Gray, in charge of the Richmond Hill golf program, said the neighboring courses are similar.

"Once we saw the state tounament was at Jekyll, we felt (Barrett) had a great opportunity," Gray said Tuesday. "She played really well (Monday) and played really well today."

Barrett shot a 2-over-par 74 to lead by four strokes after one round, meaning the field would be chasing her for Round 2.

"It was kind of nerve-wracking," Barrett said. "At the same time, I just tried to keep calm and focus on my own game."

Gray tried not to mess up a good thing, so he kept conversations "as nonchalant as possible" during the time betwen rounds.

"Obviously, yesterday was good, and you do not want to be the person that tells her anything that causes her to come down," Gray said Tuesday.

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His wife, Tiffany Gray, who coaches the girls golfers, said one of Barrett's strengths is her mental game.

"I feel like girl golfers can get in their heads a little bit more than boy golfers, and they rarely allow a single hole to turn into a bad match," Tiffany Gray said. "Hannah really is able to have a bad hole and let it go and move on to the next one."

Barrett carded a 4-over 76 on Tuesday and didn't have scoreboard updates to know where she and the competition stood. Afterward, she saw pros and cons to that.

"There was no way to know (the leaderboard) whenever I was playing today. I kind of wanted to know because I just couldn't be patient," Barrett said. "At the same time, I'm glad I didn't. It would have put pressure on me. It just gave me the ability to not focus on my score, just focus on hitting good shots."

Barrett won by seven strokes and helped the Wildcats, who were seeded fifth, finish in fourth place in the team standings. Fellow junior Sofia Raye (86-82, +24) tied for 13th, and sophomore Tatum Wood was 42nd (115-98, +69).

Sophomore teammate Sabrina Singh missed the first round due to illness and recovered to play Tuesday and shoot 99.

State golf results

Class 6A girls

Teams — 4. Richmond Hill +94, 11. Effingham County +159

Richmond Hill golfers — 1. Hannah Barrett 74-76, +6; T13. Sofia Raye 86-82, +24; 42. Tatum Wood 115-98, +64; Sabrina Singh NC (illness)/99.

ECHS golfers — 15. Logan McCrae 82-88, +26; 43. April Moss 99-115, Natalie Altman 113-101, +70; T51. Amelia Uzupan 121-108, +85; 54. Olivia Lott 117-119, +128.

Class 6A boys

Team — 11. South Effigham +88

SEHS golfers — T24. Jacob Fripp 75-79, +10; T39. Andrew Carr 86-76, +18; 71. Payton Scholl 93-96, +45; 72. Carter Patnaude 101-102, +59.

Class 4A boys

Team — 3. Benedictine +60

BC golfers — T16. Whit Watson 78-78, +12; T20. Hank Tollison 82-76, +14; T23. Nicholas Scarano 82-77, +15; T34. Haddon Watson 84-81, + 21; T39. Michael Slatinsky 82-85, +23; 58. Clay Massey 85-95, +36.

Class A Private girls

Teams — 1. Savannah Christian +2; 11. St. Vincent's +111

SCPS golfers — 2. Mary Miller 65-67, -12; T9. Ava Cottis 79-79, +14; 25. Rylan Hurd 99-98, +53

Savannah Country Day golfer — T9. Bryn Sorge 75-83, +14

SVA golfers — 26. Tyne Parker 101-98, +55; T29. Caroline Ryan 101-108, +65; 32. Emma North 117-99, +72.

Class A Private boys

Team — 6. Savannah Country Day +41

SCDS golfers — T14. William Whitfield 77-75, Reed Lotter 75-77, +8; T22. Andrew Messalle 78-76, +10; T36. Dallas Hunter 81-78, +15; T51. Lane McCullough 81-85, +22; 64. Brock Bettle 91-80, +36.

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Richmond Hill's Barrett, Savannah Christian girls are golf champions