Levens qualifies for state
Union odd man out for state but team reclaims Tri-County Cup
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

Jake Levens will represent the Panthers at state.

A berth in the state tournament was only one stroke away for the Panthers this year, but a tie with Rabun in the Region Tournament led to a one hole playoff that just didn't roll Union County's way.

"We finished third officially, even though we tied Rabun County for second place," Head Coach Jim Hughes said. "The only bad thing about golf is because of the number of golfers [on a team], golf is the only sport that takes the top two teams [from a region into the state tournament."]

North Oconee won the tournament with a team score of 318 while Rabun and Union both finished with a score of 334. Morgan County was close behind at 335 while everyone else was at 350 or higher.

Panthers sophomore Jake Levens played a brilliant individual game, ending his match in a three way tie for low medalist in the tournament.

Levens was then able to win a playoff on the first hole, despite the fact that both of his opponents were from the area and familiar with the course, while he had never even been on it prior to Sunday.

Morgan Bentley tees off.

Surprisingly enough, Levens reached par on the hole while his competitors finished with a bogey and a double bogey respectively.

They bill the opening hole as "the toughest opening hole in the state of Georgia" Coach Hughes said, further explaining how big Levens' achievement was.

Despite falling just short at state as a team, the Panthers did reclaim the Tri-County Cup, during the annual match held between Union, Towns, and Hayesville.

Union finished with a team score of 169 while Hayesville had a 195 and Towns scored a 227. But at this point the cup is more of a legend than it is hardware for a trophy case, as no one seems to know what happened to it.

"Right now we still have the mystery of the cup, as the cup has not been around for the last three years," Coach Hughes said. "But this is the second year that we retained it."

Well, in principle anyway.

The teams tried to get 18 holes in but were unable to, forcing them to score it as a 9 hole match.

The Panthers were led by Levens, who was low medalist with a 38. Coach Hughes pointed out that Levens overall total of 75 was particularly impressive. "That is the lowest score in the 10 years [of the cup]," Coach Hughes said.

Josh Colwell finished second with a 43, and both Colten Beattie and Jake Farner each finished with a 44.

"Being the first time we had played at Brasstown this year I was quite happy with those scores," Coach Hughes said, "as Brasstown is a course where you can put up some high numbers really quick."

Freshman Lady Panther Morgan Bentley was the only girl in the match, finishing with a 55.

Union County has held the Tri-County Cup seven of the 10 years that it has been in existence.

While mostly a very young team of sophomores and freshmen, the Panthers do lose one senior, Caleb Kelley.

"We're really going to miss him next year," Coach Hughes said, "especially his leadership and his effort that he gives every time out."