Loudoun County Golf Ready for States

After Taking District and Region Titles, Raiders Seek More

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Last month, Loudoun County upset defending champion Briar Woods to claim the Virginia AA Dulles District tournament golf title and advance to the Region II tournament. According to Coach John Laycock, that victory put the Raiders - whose top four are three sophomores and a senior - one year ahead of schedule.

Now, fresh off Monday's stunning two-stroke victory over Western Albermarle that earned Loudoun County the Region II title, Laycock's young squad will try to ride the wave of momentum to a strong finish at tomorrow's AA Virginia State Tournament at the Old Trail Club in Crozet, Va.

"It was kind of overwhelming," Laycock said of the regional triumph. "The kids just played so, so well. For as young as they are, they acted with maturity and class, like they've been doing this for years. The pride swelled for me, that's for sure."

Sophomore Brantley Kushner, who led the Raiders at the district tournament with a four-over-par 76, was the low man again Monday, shooting a two-under 70. Fellow second-year players Kevin Cook and Andrew Brenneman both carded 73s, and senior Michael Walker rounded out the scoring with a 76 to give them a 292-294 victory over their hosts. The regional win was Loudoun County's first in more than a decade.

"I had to bring them back to reality a little bit," Laycock said. "I gave them a day of, because after that emotional high on Monday, I felt like they needed a day just to kind of gather themselves. We had a good, long talk at practice this week about enjoying your accomplishments and feeling good about them, but we've got to get back to work and get that focus back."

Joining the Raiders at the two-day tournament, which will be on the same course as the regional round, are three individual representatives from the Dulles District. Freedom's Tyler Blake, who finished fourth with a 70; Broad Run's Kevin Yerks (71), who won this year's individual district tournament title; and last year's individual district and regional champion Michael Birmingham (68) of Briar Woods will all compete.

The Raiders' toughest competition could come from Western Albemarle, which will be playing on its home course.

"Obviously, the state tournament amps things up a little bit - there'll be more people there, there's a little more pomp and circumstance to it - but we'll see," Laycock said. "I wish I could tell you how we're going to do, but we've never done this before."

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks