Roane State Raiders Capture Golf Crown; Senators' Ellis Earns Medalist Honors
Bristol, TN – For the first time in school history the Roane State Raiders Golf Team can be called the Region 7 and Southeast District Champions. At the Golf Club of Bristol the Raiders battled the early morning temperatures along with some fierce competition to come out on top. The #13 ranked Raiders led wire to wire in the 54 hole event that contained eight other teams, 3 of which also ranked in the top 25. With rounds of 280-286-286 (E) Roane State was able to best the field by 7 shots over Walters State and by 22 shots over Cleveland State.
According to Coach Chris Griffin "These guys are building memories that will last a lifetime and they started that back in August of last year. In just our 5th year back, Team 5 has carried the moto of one percent better every day, and has continued the momentum from year 4, year 3, year 2 and from our inaugural year back in 2018. I'm so proud of how every player, 1-12, has contributed to our success this year. They have been there for one another from the beginning. Whether these guys win or lose, they stick together and push each other, that's important in golf, academics, and life. By the way, these guys have finished first in their last 3 tournaments so the victory at the Southeast District tournament was a continuation of their excellent team play this Spring season. They continue to learn that failure in golf is an opportunity to learn and improve each day. They also have learned to sift through these failures and find a positive that motivates them to keep going every day. If you come out and watch these guys play and interact with other teams, you will see how much they love the experience of playing college golf at Roane State Community College."
The Raiders were led by Kieran McCarthy (-3) who narrowly missed out on medalist honors by falling in a sudden death playoff to Walters State's Jeremy Ellis (below). Also making the ALL SOUTHEAST DISTRICT team for the Raiders with top 10 finishes were Nick Daugherty (-2), Louie Stott (+5), and Seth Robinette (+6). Caleb Tipton rounded out the Raiders scoring at (+7) to grab 11th place.
With the victory Roane State will advance to the NJCAA DII National Tournament to be held May 23-26 in Plymouth, IN.
With the top 3 teams advancing to the National Tournament this allowed fellow TCCAA teams Walters State (2nd) and Cleveland State (3rd) to earn a spot in Plymouth as well. Along with Waltes State's Ellis, the Senators Sawyer Spoone (T4), and Cleveland State's Dalton Sutton (T4), and Cain Stover (6th) were members of the ALL SOUTHEAST DISTRICT TEAM
For full tournament results check the 2022-2023 Championships link on the TCCAA webpage
