The Walker Valley boys picked a good time to shoot their lowest team total of the high school golf season Thursday at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay. The only better time would be in their next outing - the state tournament.
Four Mustangs shot 78 or better and the result was a 300, which amounted to a 13-stroke win in the Region 3-AAA tournament over second-place Cookeville.
Bradley Central took the girls' title with 164, which was two shots better than runner-up Walker Valley - the District 5 champion. The Bearettes will join Walker Valley's boys in the state tournament Oct. 11-12 at WillowBrook in Manchester.
East Hamilton's Tyson Venable can add boys' region medalist to the District 5 individual championship he won a week earlier on the same course. His even-par 72 was one stroke more than his total then but good enough to win by one this week.
Cleveland's Rheagan Hall (74) also won her second individual title at Harrison Bay this year, backing her City Prep victory by winning the region. Venable and Hall are among the four boys and four girls not on the winning teams who will have opportunities to compete in the state tournament as individuals.
Nick McCracken, boys' region medalist last year at Lake Tansi, led Walker Valley with a 1-over par 73. He ended up third in a playoff to runner-up Will Brooks of Cookeville, one of the state qualifiers.
Fourth-place finisher Cade Puryear shot 74. Parker Gray, runner-up in both the City Prep and the District 5 tournaments, shot 75. But the key for the team was the 78 from Colton Humbard, who shot 91 on the same track the previous Thursday.
"He just avoided the big number," Walker Valley coach Bob Williams said. "He didn't get in much trouble. He played steady. He played like he's capable of playing."
Bradley Central's winning girls' total came from Olivia Williams' 77 and Blaire Terrell's 87. State qualifier Madalyn Hembree edged Williams in a playoff for third.
"They all did well," said Bradley coach Don Burke, who noted both counting players improved their scores from the district tournament, as did No. 3 player MaKenzie Randolph. "I'm very proud of them. They worked all year long with the goal of going to the state tournament as a team. They got what they deserved. All their hard work paid off."
Venable had some rough spots in his round, but nothing worse than his lone double-bogey on No. 13. Still, he had more opportunities to work on recovery shots than he would've liked.
"My tee shots were consistently left," he said. "I had to punch out a lot."
His round also included six birdies.
"Basically after every hole that I made bogey, I bounced right back with a birdie," Venable said. "That's what helped me stay back in it. I made four putts from over 25 feet, which is not typical. But it was good seeing them fall today."
The other boys' state qualifiers are Cleveland's Allen Swetman and Warren County's Bracton Womack. They each shot 74.
When Hall won the City Prep on Sept. 7, she shot 42 on the front and 36 on the back. Her round in the district tournament was in the 80s and included a 45 on the front.
On Thursday she had her best front nine among the three, and she shot 34 coming in. Her round was one stroke better than the 75 by another state qualifier, Soddy-Daisy's Jayla Sims.
"I played smarter," Hall said, comparing her round to the one a week earlier. "On the back I putted very well. The front I putted OK, but not as great. The whole back nine I played well. I had seven pars and two birdies."
Winning the tournament was nice but not Hall's top priority Thursday.
"My goal in high school is to qualify for the state tournament every year," the junior said, "so that was my main goal coming in."
The last girls' individual state-qualifying spot came down between Walker Valley teammates Kelsey Cassada and Whitney Kincaid, with Cassada earning it on the first playoff hole.
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.