Scott Brown's SportsBytes on WKDZ

Comment on the Marshall County golf appeal

From time to time, people submit comments to posts that appear on the blog.  They are encouraged and can be viewed under the post and on the right menu.

Justin McGill, former sports editor of the Cadiz Record who now works with the Benton Tribune Courier, sent this comment about the KHSAA decision earlier this week to give Marshall County the state championship trophy back after they had been stripped of the title for using an ineligible player.

I figure SportsBytes readers can't get any better information on this situation than from a Trigg Countian transplanted to Marshall County, so here's how this whole thing looked from my point of view.

In May, a junior golfer transfered from a school in Florida to MCHS. This golfer did not compete in any school sports as a sophomore, simply because his previous school did not offer any sports. He played at another school his freshman year, and that team won the Florida golf championship in its class that season, but KHSAA rules state a transfer is eligible if he/she didn't play at the sending school the season before the transfer, so there's where the appeal came in. And there was absolutely no question that his transfer was legitimate - his mother was from here and moved home a year earlier with her daughter, and the son joined them this year. There was considerable confusion and miscommunication between the school and KHSAA concerning the paperwork in question - were they supposed to send in the form or not? On the form itself, the school is directed NOT to send it to KHSAA if the student meets the transfer requirements, which was the case in this instance.

Face to face, at least one administrator was told by a KHSAA official that everything was in order for this student - so says the administrator, at least. In the end, MCHS administrators had to take the fall for some of this, and that's how it all shook out after the appeal. It's how it should have happened in the first place - none of those student-athletes did anything wrong, and to punish them for what amounted to an administrative error (and it was a borderline error, in my opinion) was simply wrong.

That's my take.

JUSTIN MCGILL

Thanks Justin, and I agree with the last paragraph of his comment.  The school and not the players should be held accountable for the mistake.  Of course, the KHSAA does not have a great track record when it comes to consistency.  If I recall, it was the players who suffered in 2002 when Trigg County was declared to have played too many games -- an administrative error it was called at the time -- and their postseason was cancelled. 

I have no beef with Marshall County.  The golfers got the job done at the region level and at the state level.  The kid was deemed eligible to play when the season began and the KHSAA should have stuck to their guns instead of rescinding the title.

But had the vote went against the Marshals, they would not have been the first team to suffer because of an administrative error.  And that's where the problem lies.

As always, your comments and e-mails are welcome either by clicking on the comment link or sending them to sbrown@wkdzradio.com.

Marshall County reclaims state golf title

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association has reversed their previous decision and again awarded the state golf title to Marshall County.

The Marshals were stripped of the title when it was discovered that a transfer had played on a high school team in Florida.  Apparently, Marshall County didn't file the necessary paperwork with the KHSAA before the season, which resulted in their penalty.

At a hearing Wednesday, the KHSAA called the issue "unique" and gave Marshall County the state championship back.  However, the school was fined $5,000, placed on two years' probation, and will not be allowed to open their season until after Aug. 10.

HERE IS A COPY OF THE KHSAA PRESS RELEASE (pdf)

I'm not sure how the Marshall County situation is "unique" when compared to other schools who haven't submitted paperwork.  Trigg County got stung by the paperwork issue a couple of years ago when Lexi Estes transferred to Trigg from Marshall County.  Then TCHS athletic director Taylor Sparks said he could not locate the paperwork to file with the KHSAA when Estes decided to move back to Marshall County.  Marshall County could not find the original paperwork, which would have helped Trigg County.  As a result, Trigg had to forfeit two basketball games Estes played in that season before her move back to Marshall County.

Again, I'm not sure of the "unique" circumstances that come into play here. 

Sholar, Morris compete at long drive golf event

Trigg County's Jackie Sholar advanced past the first round of the Re/Max Long Drive Competition in Nevada last week, but could go no further.

Sholar competed in the senior division of the event, held in Mesquite, Nevada.  In the first round held Wednesday, Sholar advanced with the long drive of the round, 358 yards.  In the second round, he tied for the long drive at 337 yards.  However, he didn't advance when his drives in the next round were out of bounds.

On Friday, Mike Morris competed in the Open Division and hit his drive 350 yards, which was sixth-best in his group and 17 yards short of advancing to the next round.

First place in the Open Division took home $125,000.

Trigg region golf results

We've documented how Tyler Mitchell fared in the Region I Golf Tournament, just missing out on a trip to the state tournament.

Derek Rogers tied for 43rd place with a score of 91, while Caleb Bush shot a 102, Nick Choate a 104, and Preston Metts a 119.

Trigg finished in 12th place with a score of 367.

On Monday, Karli Bush finished in 48th place with a score of 131.  Caldwell County eighth grader Emma Talley scorched the course with a tournament record 8-under 64 to win the region title.

Mitchell ties for third at golf regional

Tyler Mitchell put together a consistent round of golf that would have been good enough to win the region meet in past years.  However, it wasn't quite enough to earn the Trigg County senior a berth in the state meet.

Mitchell tied for third place after shooting an even-par 70 at the Region I Golf Tournament Tuesday at the Mayfield Country Club.  Mitchell was in a group of four players vying for the final qualifying spot in next week's state tournament in Bowling Green, but lost on the third playoff hole.

His round consisted of a birdie on #1, a bogey on #3, and 16 pars, which was three shots behind the winner and five shots better than St. Mary's Case Cochran, the two-time defending state champion who was playing in his group.

The golfers had to endure a day of rain that even halted the match at one point.  None of that rain found its way to Trigg County.

The top two teams qualified golfers for the state meet, but the two golfers ahead of Mitchell weren't on those teams which left him on the outside looking in.  That is an obvious rule that needs to be changed and allow the top five golfers not on the top two teams into the state meet.

While the finish at the region meet is a disapointment for Tyler, the past few weeks have been busy and fulfilling.

Tyler has committed to play golf at the University of Charlotte, according to Tyler's father Butch Mitchell.  Memphis and Kentucky were two other schools hot on the trail of the Trigg golfer before Tyler settled on Charlotte recently.

Charlotte is the number one team in Division I college golf after a pair of victories in their first two events of the 2007-08 season.  It's the first time a 49er sports program has been ranked number one in the nation.

Mitchell becomes the second Trigg County boys' golfer to play at the college level in recent years, joining former Wildcat teammate Bradley Sutherland, who is at Transylvania.

Boys Region Golf Tournament Tuesday

Tyler Mitchell is among the favorites to win the Region I Boys Golf Tournament Tuesday at the Mayfield Country Club.

Mitchell will be in the final group of the day that tees off at 10:38am.  He will be paired with two-time state champion Case Cochran of St. Mary, the son of PGA pro Russ Cochran, Marshall County's Patrick Newcomb, and Adam Butler of Lone Oak.

Mitchell played the course last Monday as part of a triangular match and shot a 36 over nine holes.

Nick Choate and Caleb Bush are set to tee off at 8:30am, Derrick Rogers at 8:38am, and Preston Metts at 8:46am.

The top two teams in the tournament advance to the state tournament in Bowling Green next week.  Also advancing will be the top three not on one of those two teams.

A good day by Mitchell will keep him in the hunt for one of ten spots on the All-State Golf Team.  Mitchell currently stands in 12th place in total points, but can land in the top ten with solid finishes at both the region and state tournaments.

Trigg winding down season on the links

Trigg County wrapped up their final week before next week's Region I Golf Tournament.

On Monday, Trigg played at the Mayfield Country Club and posted their lowest team score of the year at 184, which was 29 shots behind Mayfield and ten ahead of Caldwell County.

Tyler Mitchell led Trigg with a 36, while Derek Rogers shot a 48, and sixth grader Nick Choate shot a season-low 49.

The Mayfield Country Club will host next week's boys' region tourney.

On Tuesday, Trigg County played without Mitchell and finished third in a triangular match with Calloway County and Murray at Boots Randolph Golf Course.

Derek Rogers led Trigg with a 49, while Karli Bush had the low score on the girls' side with a 55 to finish fourth on the day.

Calloway County won by 29 shots over Murray and 45 over Trigg.

Bush will compete in the Region I Golf Tournament Monday at Drake Creek in Ledbetter.

Tyler Mitchell wins medalist at Hopkinsville match

Tyler Mitchell took medalist honors Monday at the Hopkinsville Country Club in a triangular match with Hoptown and Christian County. 

Mitchell shook off some problems with the putter to still come in at 1-under-par 34, winning the match by four shots over Hopkinsville's Justin Hageman.

Preston Metts shot a 49, followed by Derrick Rogers (52), and Caleb Bush (54).

Christian County won the match with a team score of 154, followed by Hopkinsville (163) and Trigg County (189).

Karli Bush was Trigg County's lone girls' golfer with a 53, which was ten shots behind the winner, Marrah Goff of Hopkinsville.

Tyler Mitchell wins Hopkins Central Invitational

Trigg County senior Tyler Mitchell won the Hopkins County Central Invitational Golf Meet Saturday at the Madisonville Country Club.

Mitchell shot a 67, which was four shots better than the 71 shot by Marshall County's Patrick Meeks and seven better than Meeks' teammate Cameron Brown.

Marahall County ran away with the team title.

Trigg County will host Hopkinsville Tuesday in a dual match at Boots Randolph Golf Course.

Tyler Mitchell finishes third at Tilghman Invitational

Tyler Mitchell opened the 2007 high school golf season with a third place finish Saturday in the Paducah Tilghman Invitational at Paxton Park.

Mitchell's round of 71 tied last year's state champion, Case Cochran of St. Mary, for third place overall out of 73 golfers.

Marshall County's Patrick Newcombe won the event in a playoff over St. Mary's Luke Daily. 

Mitchell was the only Trigg golfer to compete at the event.  Trigg County will play again today.

Other golfers on the team are Shawn Sizemore, Derek Rogers, and Preston Metts.

The girls' team consists of golfers Carly Bush and McKenzie Oliver.