FRANKLIN
With a score of 508 in the VHSL 1A Conference 41 golf tournament, the Franklin High School Broncos were able to pull off the win and advance to regionals.

Franklin was 8 strokes ahead of second place and host team Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, a team that will also advance. The teams were in a field of 4 and played at Dogwood Trace Golf Course in Petersburg.

Sophomore Brandon Blythe shot a 104, which was good enough for third in the tournament, while teammates junior Timothy Kreider shot a 128, sophomore Chance McCoy shot a 130 and sophomore Connor Shanks shot a 146.

“I thought he played very well,” Head Coach Dave Lease said of Blythe. “I thought he and Chance McCoy played their best golf of the season.”

They advance to play at The Manor Golf Club in Farmville on Monday. Lease said the competition is going to get tougher from here.

“The teams out west are good,” he said. “I am just proud of how they did in conference. We will just build on that and go to the tournament, have fun, play loose and, hopefully, have our best outing.”

During TriRivers district play, Blythe led the team with an average of 56 during 9-hole play. During the postseason, the teams move on to 18-hole play. Shanks had an average of 58, while Krieder was one stroke behind him at 59 and McCoy had an average of 68. Also on the team is Jacob Geary, a junior who recently joined the team. He shot an average of 70 during limited action.

“Connor has improved a lot, and Brandon Blythe has definitely dropped 6 strokes from last year,” he said. “For Connor, it’s more like 10.

“We’ve got a young team, no seniors, but I thought we have done good this season.”

Should they advance to states, either as a team or individually, it will be played on Oct. 13-14 at Glenrochie Country Club in Abingdon. The top two teams from each regional will advance, while the top six players with scores under 100 will advance from each region.