Harlan posted what is believed to be its strongest performance in the history of the Pine Mountain Golf Conference, finishing second as a team in the two-day tournament at the Wasioto Winds course in Pineville by shooting a 361, 13 strokes behind Barbourville.
“I’m very proud of my team and the way they competed the past two days. While we came up short, the boys competed and gave all they had against some great competition from around the conference,” Harlan coach Baylor Varner said. “I couldn’t ask for more from them this past year. We all had a common goal before the season started in rebuilding this program. We took a huge step forward this year from not only our varsity guys, but our first year having a junior varsity and middle school boys team that I’ve known of. The future is very bright in the green and white.”
Bell County was third with 376, followed by Clay County at 391, Knox Central at 397, Harlan County at 400 and Corbin at 417.
Eli Freyer led Harlan with an 88. Baylor Varner finished with an 89 and was a second team all-conference selection. Caiden Jackson had a 90. Grant Shelton shot a 94 and was a third team all-conference choice. Carson Osborne shot a 95.
Harlan County junior Cole Cornett was the individual winner with a four-over par 76 while earning first team all-conference honors. Carson Clark was next with a 93 and earned second team all-conference honors. Mason Garrett was next with 111, followed by Sebastian Mosley at 120 and Jonah Estep at 146.
Mason Sziksai and Landen Powers led Bell as each shot an 88. Ty Mays had a 99, followed by Ayden Smith at 101 and Alex Creech at 111.
Isaac Harris shot an 87 for Middlesboro with Emmitt Butler shooting a 118.