Cumberland County Middle School came up with an impressive team effort last week to capture the 2025 Boys District Golf Championship at the Golden Eagle Golf Club in Cookeville.
Cumberland County posted a team score of 174, winning a tiebreaker with Algood Middle School, which also finished at 174.
“To be honest with you, I had a feeling it could go either way for us,” said Coach Randy Herring. “We had a very successful regular season, but the majority of the matches that we won, none of them were like runaways. I don’t think we won by more than, I don’t know, five or six strokes against the upper echelon teams in our district. I knew it would probably be a pretty interesting tournament.”
Upperman finished third at 180, with Prescott at 181 and White County at 186. Avery Trace finished with a 186, Warren County shot 196, and Overton County posted a 212.
Max Vanwinkle led the way for Cumberland County with a 42 over nine holes. Ryder Flatt shot 43 with Eli Verstynen at 44. Colyer Myers posted a 45 and Finn Vanwinkle shot 50. The tiebreaker system in middle school is based on the team’s fifth golfer. Algood’s fifth golfer shot 55.
“I think consistency was the strength of our team this year. We didn’t have just a standout in the group, but we had consistently four kids that would shoot anywhere from 42 to 46 or 47,” Herring said.
“I thought Max would play a little bit better than he did. And Colyer was a stroke or two higher than what I thought he would shoot. Eli and Ryder both played a little better than what they normally do. So it kind of evened itself out. Always having four scores in the 40s, you have a chance to be competitive for sure.”
Herring said he thought his players handled the Golden Eagle course well.
He said many of his guys had played the course. However, due to course maintenance, the tournament was played only over the back nine.
“The back nine was new for them. But, you know, all things considered, after the first two scores came in, I told somebody, I’m like, I don’t think it’s going to be our day to day,” Herring laughed. “But I didn’t get to talk with the guys during the round because I was running the tournament.”
The Cumberland County girls finished fourth overall in the tournament. CCMS had a 93, finishing behind White County at 80, Algood at 83, and Prescott at 92. Warren County shot 97, while Avery Trace fired a 108 and Overton County had a 118.
Kinsley Wilson led Cumberland County with an impressive round of 41 over nine holes, one stroke behind the tournament champion. That qualifies her for the upcoming sectional tournament in Nashville.
Keira Kelly shot 52 and Hannah Jones posted a 54.
“Keira had been playing really well coming into that tournament,” Herring said.
“And to be honest with you, I really thought that the girls would qualify as a team. And I wasn’t for sure about the boys because it was so close during the regular season. But it turned out to be just the opposite.
“I thought Keira was just a little off yesterday. And I asked her about it, and she said that she was. I know she was very confident coming in to yesterday. And when I checked with her after she warmed up, she said she hit the ball really well. I am not sure what happened.”
The sectional championships will be at Two Rivers Golf Course in Nashville. Four districts will make up the field at the sectional. The top team from the sectional will qualify for the state championships at Harpeth Hills Golf Course, also in Nashville.
“I looked at the scores, the qualifying scores for the sectional, and you know, we’re right there close,” Herring said.
“So, the biggest difference for some of these kids will be that we’re playing 18 holes at the sectional. Our seasonal matches and the district tournament have just been nine. It’ll make a huge difference.”