Greenbrier High School's boys golf team sweated the region golf tournament last year, edging Lakeside for second place and a state tournament bid. Ahead of the Wolfpack was Richmond Academy, which went on to win the Class AAAA championship and the region title.
There was no similar competition for the Wolfpack this season in Region 2-AAAAA. Not even close.
The Wolfpack boys captured the first region golf title in the school's history, firing a 292 Monday to dust second-place Union Grove by 41 shots.
The Greenbrier girls also took the team title, shooting 182 to clear the closest competitor by 30 strokes.
Wolfpack sophomore Cody Shafer won boys medalist honors with an even-par 72. Greenbrier junior Ivey Mischel was the girls medalist after shooting 89.
Greenbrier is familiar with the course where the state tournament will be held May 4. The Wolfpack played in the Johnny Paulk Invitational at Jekyl Island Golf Club's Oleander Course on March 1.
Greenbrier golf coach Stephen Inman said the tight, island-course design would require his players to think their way around the course, something they didn't have to do much at region.
Inman said he didn't know what to expect entering the region tournament. His teams hadn't played any region teams in matches during the season.
The Wolfpack golfers had competed against the best teams in the Augusta area, and that was enough to make Inman confident his teams were prepared.
"There are enough really strong golf teams in our area that we knew that we could simply play the teams in our area, (and) we went to several out-of-town tournaments," Inman said. "We felt like that would be good preparation."
Shafer was one of four Wolfpack sophomores to make the trip. A freshman and a junior made up the rest of the boys team.
The Wolfpack are young, but they have been playing competitive golf for years in junior tournaments. Inman said the experience should help prepare them for Class AAAAA's best at Jekyll Island.
"These kids have come up and they've put in a lot of work, and they've played in a lot of tournaments," Inman said. "That really pays off when you get into these situations."
Evans senior Jacob Tilton enjoyed a runaway win the next day at the Region 3-AAAA tournament at Jones Creek. Tilton, who will play for Armstrong Atlantic State, shot 67 on a broken left ankle to claim boys medalist honors and an invite to the Class AAAA Tournament.
Tilton started 6 under through six holes, including an eagle on his fourth hole, the par-5 13th. Tilton shot 30 on his first nine after starting on No. 10. He had a chance at 29 with a less than 10-foot birdie opportunity on No. 18, but he pushed it.
After making the turn with a large cushion, Tilton kept the driver in the bag and coasted to a six-shot victory.
Tilton played with a white brace on his left ankle, which he broke playing basketball last month.
"It was an amazing run," he said of the title.
Tilton's counterpart on the Knights girls team was senior Heather Hammack, who shot 100 to earn medalist honors. Evans won the 3-AAAA girls title with a 223 total.
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