East Hamilton's Tyson Venable hits his approach shot to the 15th hole at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay last Thursday during the Region 3-AAA tournament. Venable shot a 1-under-par 71 and was the medalist.The Region 3-AAA high school golf tournament is scheduled for Thursday at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay. The field comprises the top three finishing boys' and girls' teams from last week's District 5 and District 6 tournaments and the top five finishing boys and girls from those tournaments outside of those teams.
Thursday's first boys' tee time is scheduled for 9 a.m. The first girls' tee time is set for 11:06.
The winning boys' and girls' teams, along with the top four boys and girls not on those teams, will advance to the state tournament scheduled next Tuesday and Wednesday at WillowBrook in Manchester.
Walker Valley's boys and girls won District 5 championships last Thursday on the same course, with the Mustangs' victory by one stroke over McMinn County. Cookeville's boys and White County's girls were District 6 team champions at Dayton Golf & Country Club.
"Cookeville's boys are really strong," Walker Valley coach Bob Williams said. "Their numbers one through five can shoot in the 70s. On the girls' side, we've seen White County in a few different tournaments. They're pretty strong.
"In order for us to beat Cookeville, or anybody else, we're going to have to have four really good scores. If our girls can do what they did the other day at the district tournament, I like our chances. But it's going to be tough. It's a different day."
Walker Valley's boys were led in the district tournament by Parker Gray, runner-up with a par round of 72. The Lady Mustangs' Kelsey Cassada shot 71, including 3-under 33 on the back nine, as the girls' medalist.
The District 5 boys' medalist was East Hamilton's Tyson Venable, who edged Gray by one.
"I love playing Bear Trace," Venable said shortly after his winning round. "It's one of my favorite courses around here."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him on Twitter @KelleySmiddie.
Region 3-AAA golf
At The Bear Trace at Harrison BayLegend: Bradley Central (BC), Cleveland (Cle), Cookeville (Cooke), Cumberland County (CC), East Hamilton (EH), McMinn County (MC), Ooltewah (Ool), Rhea County (RC), Soddy-Daisy (SD), Stone Memorial (SM), Walker Valley (WV), Warren County (Warren), White County (White)Thursday’s boys’ tee times: 9 a.m. — Parker Gray (WV), Jacob Funderburk (Cooke), Matt Mays (MC); 9:09 — Tanner Bryant (White), Tyson Venable (EH), Bracton Womack (Warren); 9:18 — Nick McCracken (WV), Will Brooks (Cooke), Nicholas Thompson (MC); 9:27 — Haden Welch (White), Miller Wick (EH), Levi Craven (Warren); 9:36 — Cade Puryear (WV), Charles Williams (Cooke), Chance Smith (MC); 9:45 — Blake Gongaware (White), Matt Ott (EH), Jaeden Pyburn (Warren); 9:54 — Colton Humbard (WV), Austin Molnar (Cooke), Kobe Watson (MC); 10:03 — Kenton Crockett (White), Hayden Davis (EH), Peyton Hastings (Warren); 10:12 — Jack Essenburg (WV), Jared Funderburk (Cooke), Matt Milligan (MC); 10:21 — Tyson Welch (White), Kendall Tate (EH), Bunker Brock (Warren); 10:30 — Zach Young (CC), Gage Brakebill (BC), Jackie Burgin (SM); 10:39 — Alex Kyle (BC), Caleb Smith (SM), Drew Linkous (Cle); 10:48 — Allen Swetman (Cle), Russell Green (RC); 10:57 — Tyler Ferguson (BC), Hogan Herring (CC).Girls’ tee times: 11:06 a.m. — Kelsey Cassada (WV), McKenzie Burton (White), Olivia Williams (BC); 11:15 — Josie Ross (Cooke), Jayla Sims (SD), Valerie Vargas (Warren); 11:24 — Whitney Kincaid (WV), Makenzie Morton (White), Blaire Terrell (BC); 11:33 — Ashlynn Fajt (Cooke), Jessica Kirklan (SD), Allison Mingle (Warren); 11:42 — Lauryn Roby (WV), Ansley Phifer (White), MaKenzie Randolph (BC); 11:51 — Savannah Pearson (Cooke), Madeline McNeal (SD), Ireland Moore (Warren); noon — Rheagan Hall (Cleve), Kelsee Neely (CC), Danielle Siever (Ool); 12:09 — Madalyn Hembree (EH), Ellie Mills (Cleve), Chirsten Sneed (RC); 12:18 — Lesley Green (RC), Lisa Heimlich (Ool), Paite Wyatt (SM).