Sleeping on a 12-shot overnight lead and waking Tuesday with a chance to three-peat as Division II-A state champions, the CAK golf team didn’t wilt under the gravity of the moment.
The Warriors simply ran away with the tournament.
CAK won its third consecutive Division II-A State Tournament on Tuesday, lapping the field at WillowBrook Golf Course in Manchester, Tenn., with an impressive two-day mark of 8-over 584.
Trinity Christian finished in second place, some 25 shots behind. Battle Ground Academy and Franklin Road Academy tied for third at 629. Webb School of Knoxville was fifth (635).
The championship now gives the CAK boys’ golf program six state titles overall.
3 PEAT 🏆🏆🏆 The CAK Warriors have won their 6th State Championship in program history by 25 shots! Legendary coach @shnikens has been at the helm for ALL six of those!! Congratulations Aaron, John, Kaleb, Eli, Ben, and Jackson! pic.twitter.com/pfO98TYbki
— CAK Men’s Golf (@cak_golf) October 2, 2019
Sophomore Kaleb Wilson led the charge.
Despite getting off to a 2-over start Monday through his first six holes, Wilson managed an opening-round 71. He followed that Tuesday by birdieing five of his first eight holes to soar up the individual leaderboard.
His final-round 68 put him in third place individually at 5-under 139. Fellow sophomore Jackson Hughey (70-77–147), senior Aaron Frazer (71-77–148) and junior John Meadows (77-73–150) rounded out the CAK scoring and all finished in the top 10.
Webb School of Knoxville junior Reece Britt threw a scare into eventual individual champion Patton Samuels of Clarksville Academy when he started 5 under through 10 holes Tuesday and sat one shot back of Samuels’ then 7-under pace. But just a few holes later, Samuels rested atop the leaderboard with a three-shot cushion at 8 under.
Samuels shot rounds of 67 and 69 to win the solo title at 8 under. Britt fell back to fourth with a pair of 71s.
The CAK girls’ team finished third in Division II-A as their final-round, 27-over 171 couldn’t catapult them up the leaderboard to chase down team-champion Franklin Road Academy (FRA).
FRA won with a two-day total of 11-over 299 to win by 15 shots over Northpoint and 34 over CAK.
Allie Cooper and Kate Faulkner of CAK finished tied for sixth and solo eighth, respectively. Cooper, a junior, finished with rounds of 79 and 87. Faulkner, a freshman, shot 83-84. CAK sophomore, Caitlin Carroll, finished 10th (91-88–178).
Tuzunami Polito of FRA and teammate Emily Wilson took first and second, respectively. Polito finished at 4-over 148 after rounds of 75 and 73.
TKA’s Taylor Carter was 12th.
Catholic’s Kennedy Anne Noe strikes a shot during the first day of the 2nd Annual 5Star Preps Masters in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Monday, July 29, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
In Division II-AA, the Catholic girls’ team finished fourth (28-over 316) and 30 shots back of winner St. Agnes (2-under 286).
Catholic’s Kennedy Noe shot consecutive rounds of 72 to finish as state runner-up. St. Agnes’ Rachel Heck led the field at 8-under 136.
Amelia Rechter of Catholic was 13th (86-86).
Also noteworthy, though not a local angle, Jaron Leasure of Montgomery Bell Academy set a TSSAA single-round record with a 10-under 62 on Tuesday. His 12-under 132 total won the Division II-AA title by nine shots. Leasure is a Virginia commitment.