Coming into Tuesday’s second round, the girls class A public golf championship looked to be set up for a thrilling showdown for the state title.
    Gordon Lee and Portal were tied at 168, and with third place Seminole County sitting at 192 it was going to come down to the Trojans standing in the way of the Lady Panthers for repeating at the state championship.
     However, Mother Nature wasn’t in the mood for championship drama. She can be a real buzzkill like that.
     So in light of poor course conditions in the pouring rain, the second round was cancelled and the results stood. So, The Panthers were able to repeat as the Class A Public girls golf champions — even if they had to share.
     “It’s a bittersweet victory, but we’re still back-to-back state champions,” said coach Jay Reddick. “The girls fought hard to earn their score of 168.”
     The last time the GHSA issued a tie for a golf state title was in 2006 when Glynn Academy and Northview split the Class AAAAA title. Either way, Portal will get to bring home a trophy for the second year in a row behind the same two girls who have now been in the girls golf final for three years in a row now.
     Faith Reddick — 2016’s low medalist — finished this year three strokes behind low medalist MaCall Miller. Her running mate Layne Clark finished third while Alexis Agnew finished in the top 20. Reddick and Clark will leave Portal as two of the most decorated athletes — boy or girl — in the high school’s history.
     To this day, the state titles the girls brought in 2016 and 2017 are the only team titles Portal holds.
     “I’m extremely proud of those girls, they’ve had excellent high school careers,” Reddick said.
     Reddick and Clark will look to ride the momentum of their high school careers to Truett McConnell where they’ll play for the Bears golf team.
 
SEB girls hit goal
     Southeast Bulloch head coach Aimee Civalier fully expected her team to do two things at the Class AAA girls state championship: shoot under a 600 between the two days and finish in the top eight. In her mind, shooting under 600 would lead to the Lady Jackets to finish in the top eight, and she was absolutely right.
     “Considering we came into today seventh, I guess I wish we could have stayed seventh,” Civalier said. “But we accomplished both of our goals, so I’d say this was a success.” 
     SEB edged out Savannah Arts with another 295 score on Tuesday to finish at 590 on the championship, good enough for a top eight finish. Marleigh Cooper improved greatly on her her Monday score by shooting nine strokes better for an 85 — putting her 179 total to finish 16th on the tournament.
     Chyann Hoyle and Jade Hoyle both finished in the top 40 as well to contribute to the final score. Civalier was especially proud of her No. 2 and 3, crediting SEB’s top eight finish.
     “The Hoyle girls played very well all tournament,” Civalier said. “Marleigh (Cooper) picked it up too. I was proud of all of them.”
 
Statesboro
     Statesboro would finish 15 strokes behind state champion Starr’s Mill with a total score of 610 to finish third overall after shooting a 308 Tuesday. Tate Rackleff finished tied for eighth place by shooting a total of 149, making him the highest placer for any Blue Devil. Mason Kleinlein didn’t finish far behind with a 152 tied for 14th while Aaron Elmore and Ford Berger both finished inside the top 20.
     “We have four freshman and two sophomores on this team, and I knew how talented they were from the get go,” said coach David Elmore. “I think the next four years will be very special if this group can stay together.”
     As for the girls, they finished the state tournament in 12th place by improving on their Monday score of 314 by six strokes. Statesboro’s highest placer was freshman Sloan Aubrey, who looked like a completely different golfer Tuesday by shooting a 90 — 16 strokes better than her Monday score to finish tied for 24th.
     Savannah Barefoot and Brooke Bennett finished inside the top 40 as well.