The 2010 season has come to an end for the Tyler Consolidated Silver Knight golf team. The team finished the season with an overall 37-59-2 record, and finished fourth of eight teams at the Region I, Class AA Regional last week.

On Sept. 27 the team traveled to the Green Hills Country Club in Ravenswood for the chance to take their game into the post-season. Though they played well, the Knights finished fourth in the competition behind Ritchie County, 241; Ravenswood, 246; and Point Pleasant, with 252. The Knights scored 255, followed by Roane, 267; Oak Glen, 284; Magnolia, 286; and Weir, 291.

Dalton Wells led the Knight crew, turning in a score card of 81. Swayde Carpenter scored 86; Corey Wells, 88; and Tyler Lemasters, 92.

“Many courses had trouble in late summer keeping the fairways growing nicely with the hot and dry weather, but Green Hills was in decent condition for the regional,” said Knight head coach Joe Griffith. “Our team played the course in early August and then again several days prior to the tournament, so the players were familiar with the holes.”

“We only had one brief downpour during the day of regionals, and the rest of the day was cloudy but no rain. Compared to many of the regionals around the state, we lucked out.”

“This was the first year that we only played four and counted three at the regional tournament. That worked out for us well this year, although we actually had four solid scores. If we had counted four scores, the team standings would not have changed except for the final two places.”

“We were very pleased that the team ended in the top half for both of the past two tournaments. That bodes well for next year.”

“Dalton Wells had another very good round, finishing at nine over par, and missing the cut for going to the state tournament as an individual by only one stroke. He was disappointed to have played so well and not make it to state. When I asked him about his round, and whether or not he had any bad shots that he wished he could do over, he said that he didn’t. That means that he played consistently well all day.”

“Under last year’s regional format of taking four individuals to the state tournament, he would have qualified. So that was disappointing, but I was pleased for him that he finished off the season well. He should be in a good position to qualify for states next season.”

“Swayde Carpenter finished second for us, with an 86. That was a very nice round for him, too. He went through a slump early in the season, but his game has been solid lately. He and Dalton will be returning as seniors next year to lead a team that should be a strong contender for making it to states as a team.”

“Corey Wells has played extremely well for a freshman this year, in spite of trying to deal with a torn meniscus in his knee. That bothers him especially on hilly courses, of which Green Hills is obviously one. His 88 was a good score, but it was a little higher than he had hoped. If he had shot his normal game, we might have moved ahead of Point Pleasant into third place, but we most likely would still not have been able to beat either Ritchie or Ravenswood as a team. We would have needed nine strokes–three strokes per man–to have qualified as a team.”

“These three returning players should bring to next year’s squad as strong of a returning team as we have had in many years.”

“Our lone senior still in the competition at regionals was Tyler Lemasters. He has had his struggles with the game this year, but in the past couple of weeks he has returned solid scores in both the LKC and Regional Tournaments. I was pleased with his finish in both of those events. He has been a co-captain for the past two years, and I will miss the work that he has done for the team in that position.”

“The six seniors on the team this year-Nate Bolin, Ethan Garrison, Brice Kehrer, Levi Kissner, Chelsa Thomas and Tyler Lemasters-have provided depth to our scoring. I have enjoyed watching their progress over the past four years. We will certainly miss their contributions next year, and it will be up to the other underclassmen to pick up the slack in their absence.”

“Three freshmen should return next season besides Corey Wells, including Timmy Chichick, Justin Dennis and Kyle Eastham. This year they were just beginning to learn the game, and it will take a lot of hard work during the off season to polish up their shots so that we can come up with good scores in the fourth and fifth positions next fall.”