Pierce County’s golfing Bears copped a top four finish and a title in two tournaments.
PCHS senior Ethan Arnold finished second in the field of 109 golfers in the 18-team Lowndes Viking Classic held Monday, March 17 at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club carding a one-over-par round of 73.
PCHS finished fourth in the field with a 313 team score while the Gators tied North Paulding for sixth with a 316.
Arnold shot two-over-par 74 during the Saturday, March 22 TaylorMade/Adidas Invitational hosted by Burke County at the Waynesboro Country Club.
The Bears shot 306 for a seven-shot over Class A Private School Aquinas.
Viking Classic
VALDOSTA — Arnold’s round of 39-34 with three birdies on the back nine was second to Ware County’s Trace Carter, who continued his splendid play on the links picking up another medalist honor with a four-under-par round of 68.
Carter posted 33-35 carding four birdies on the front nine (Nos. 1 thru 3, No. 8) and an eagle (No. 14) on the back nine.
Class 6A host Lowndes, with three players tying for third with rounds of 74, clipped fellow Class 6A member Carrollton by two strokes for the win, 300-302. Class 6A Colquitt County was next with a 308. The Packers were followed by Class 2A PCHS (313) and Class 5A Coffee (314) in the top five spots.
After Ware County and Class 6A North Paulding were South Forsyth (317), Tift County (318) and Lowndes II (324).
Rounding out the field were Class A DI Toombs County (330), Class 3A LaGrange (330), Class 6A Camden County (333), Lowndes III (334), Class 1A DI Berrien (346), Class 5A Thomas County Central (360), Class 3A Bainbridge (364), Class 6A Valdosta (379) and Class A DII Charlton County (408).
Following Arnold for the Bears was Samuel Ricketson with a score of 40-36-76 which included three birdies on the back nine. Ricketson finished in a seven-way tie for ninth joining Colquitt County’s Calvin Hall and Leighter Hood, Coffee’s J.P. Spivey, the Carrollton duo of Edward Fleck and Davis Hass, and Camden County’s Randall James.
Bennett Puryear posted 39-38-77 with a birdie on each side in tying South Forsyth’s Lucas Watson for 16th.
Griffin Hull followed with a 40-47-87 rounding out the team score and finishing in a four-way tie for 72nd. He was joined by Valdosta’s Tripp Perry, Coffee’s Noah Morris and Camden County’s Archie Disanto.
Hart Strickland was a shot back with a 4642-88 to finish in a five-way tie for 76th with Coffee’s Garrett Medders, Lowndes II’s Cayden Gay and the Berrien duo of Logan Rowe and Beau Lindsey.
Barrett Moore shot 46-44-90 to tie Berrien’s Jake Moody for 83rd.
TaylorMade/Adidas
WAYNESBORO — The Bears had four players finish in the top 11 spots in winning the title.
Finishing behind PCHS and Aquinas in the Top 10 were Class 6A Richmond Hill (319), GIAA Edmund Burke Academy (322), Coffee (324), Class 2A tournament host Burke County (328), Class 5A Lakeside-Augusta (328), Class 3A Richmond Academy (331), Class 3A Harlem (336) and Class 6A Grovetown (343).
The rest of the field included Class 3A Southeast Bulloch (345), Class 5A Evans of August (353), Class 5A South Effingham (355), Class A DII Lincoln County (374), GIAA August Prep (400) and Toombs County (438).
David Canizares of Coffee led th 92-player field with a two-underpar round of 70. Richmond Hill’s Mathew Reynolds was the only other player in red figures finishing a shot back with a 71.
Arnold shot 34-40-74 for a solo fourth spot. He birdied four holes on the front and one on the back.
Ricketson posted 3838-76 to tie for sixth with Andrew Cochran of Aquinas. Ricketson recorded a birdie on each side.
Strickland and Justin Smith each shot 78 to tie Burke County’s Isaiah Price for 11th in the field. Strickland carded 39-39 with a birdie while Smith shot 40-38 with a birdie.
Moore finished in a three-way tie for 20th after shooting 42-39-81 with a birdie. Harlem’s Chad Couch and Lakeside- Augusta’s Peyton Wilkins also shot 81.
Hull finished in a fourway tie for 49th after posting a 43-45-88. Joining him were Ethan Taylor of Coffee, Grovetown’s Wyatt Thorpe and Lincoln County’s William Barnett.
