Golf season ends with fifth-place finish for Indians

Berkeley Springs finished fifth in the Region II, Class AA golf Tournament, played on Monday, September 24, at Tygarts Lake Golf Course in Grafton.

Grafton, led by low medalist Adam Ware's 76, easily defeated the Region II field. Their total of 319, was 29 strokes better than runner-up Frankfort's 349 total. Petersburg finished third with 353, followed by Philip Barbour 378, Berkeley Springs 379, Braxton County 380, Lincoln 387 and Keyser 390.

Only the top two teams and top four scores, not on the first and second place teams, advance to the state tournament. Berkeley Springs was unable to advance as a team and no individuals qualified in the extra spots, marking the first time in several years that the Tribe failed to qualify anyone for the state tournament.

Despite the obvious disappointment, Berkeley Springs coach Dale McCumbee was upbeat.

"Sure we are disappointed with our finish, but we have a young team and should be much more competitive next season," said McCumbee. "We had some very good matches this year and showed a lot of progress. However, we weren't consistent enough and didn't play as well as we could have down the stretch. Having said that, I am really looking forward to next season. We have nearly everyone back and they should all be better. We weren't that far away from the second and third-place teams in the region. I am hopeful that these kids will get the opportunity to play a lot of golf next summer and come into the season with improved games. This has been a good bunch of kids to work with and I am already eager to get the 2008 season started."

Freshman Zach Solomon was low for the Indians with a 90. Ryan Redick posted a 92, Andrew Rickli a 94 and Nathan Bowers a 103, to round out the Berkeley Springs scoring. Justin Mang, shot a 105, but his score did not count in the team total.

Berkeley Springs ended the season with a record of 24-32.