Cabell Midland charged into a big lead in the òòò½ÊÓƵSSAC Class AAA state golf tournament on Tuesday at Wheelingòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Oglebay Resort and held first place in the team standings at the end of the eventòòò½ÊÓƵ™s first day.
Led by Jack Michael, who shot 2-over-par to sit atop the individual Class AAA leaderboard, the Knights separated themselves from the jumbled pack behind them by shooting 15-over-par as a team.
Second-place Hurricane is 13 strokes off the lead and four strokes better than Universityòòò½ÊÓƵ™s 32-over entering Wednesdayòòò½ÊÓƵ™s second and final round.
George Washington came in fourth at 34-over, followed by defending champion Washington at 39-over.
Michael powered Midland, shooting even through the first nine holes and finishing the day at 2-over-par for a three-stroke lead over Stephen McDavid of Winfield and Tommy Evans of Washington in the Class AAA individual standings.
Michael finished his round of 18 holes in 73 strokes. Starting the day on the back nine, Michael bogeyed the par-4 10th hole to start the round, got par on the next four holes and birdied the par-3 15th hole and par-4 hole on 16.
On the front nine, Michael bogeyed three holes but birdied the par-5 eighth hole, then finished with a par on nine to finish his day.
McDavid and Evans, the defending Class AAA champion, each finished the day at 5-over-par. Evans birdied three holes but got a double-bogey on the par-3 fourth hole and another on the 12th hole, a par-4.
Michael, Evans, Daniel Grabo of University and Lee Willard of GW were the final group to tee off on Tuesday, beginning their tournament at about 10:55 a.m.
In Class A, Charleston Catholicòòò½ÊÓƵ™s Will Gruse finished his first round in a three-way tie for first place. Gruse shot 8-over-par for the day to finish tied with defending Class A individual champion Grant Roush from Wahama and Rocky Frye from Montcalm.
Gruse shot 8-over through 14 holes, while teammate Ben Carew matched that through his first nine holes. Carew finished at 15-over for the round and alone in ninth place, while the Irish as a team finished the day in fourth at 52-over.
St. Marys leads Class A at 40-over, followed by Gilmer County, which is one stroke back. Wahama is third at 50-over.
In Class AA, Shady Spring shot a 26-over for the first round to lead the field, followed by Wheeling Central at 39-over. Region 4 runner-up Chapmanville and champion Ripley finished third and fourth, respectively.
Luke Tiu of Wheeling Central leads the Class AA individual leaderboard at 4-over-par.
The final round of the two-day tournament will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Rick Elmore covers sports. He can be reached at 304-348-5122 or relmore@hdmediallc.com. Follow @ElmoreSports on Twitter/X.
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