Almost state #1: BHS boys golf, Webb girls soccer 2nd; Newman leads HVA girls to 3rd
After 36 holes over two days at Sevierville Golf Club River Course, Region 2-AA champion Bearden boys golf earned a second-place team finish in TSSAA Division I-AA, scoring 605 (297-308 or +29).
Individually, Bulldogs Bryce Harmon (70-78—148) and Dane Helzer (71-77—148) were among six who finished tied for 10th-place (+4). Charlie Culbertson ended in a three-way tie for 28th (75-78—153 or +9).
Newman, HVA girls third
Region champion Hardin Valley Academy girls finished tied for third at state (150-157—307 or +27) led by Addisyn Newman, who finished in a three-way tie for state medalist honors (68-72—140 or even-par through 36 holes).
William Blount’s Sophia Gambini earned state medalist honors in a playoff.
HVA teammates Leona Patel and Rylee Taylor finished 32nd and tied for 34th, respectively.
In Division II-AA, Knoxville Catholic’s girls placed fifth in state, led by a 12th-place finish by Linzy Johnson (75-84—159) and 14th-place showing from Teagan Walker (76-86—162). KCHS’s Ava Holmes finished 21st.
Elsewhere in Sevierville, Farragut’s Harper Holmes placed in a four-way tie for 13th in state (76-76—152).
Webb girls soccer second
The third time wasn’t a charm for Webb School of Knoxville girls soccer in the TSSAA Division II-AA state tournament in Chattanooga.
Despite a pair of victories earlier in the 2024 season against region rival Baylor (18-4-2), the Lady Spartans fell to the Lady Red Raiders 2-0 in the state title match Friday, Oct. 25, at Boyd-Buchanan High School.
With Baylor goals coming in the 40th and 55th minute, Webb shots-on-goal came from Abby Weigel, Gideon Bradford, Layla Kassira and A. Castleberry.
But a goal from Piper Luhn in the 36th minute got Webb into the title match, with a 1-0 victory versus Harpeth Hall (13-1-3) Thursday, Oct. 24.
Simone Romain (two shots) and June Samulski (one shot) also had shots-on-goal for the Lady Spartans (15-2-1).
Webb goalkeeper Lauren Newell had seven saves.
Bearden soccer rolls twice
Despite falling short in the Division I-AAA state title match versus Houston, Bearden girls soccer weere dominant in a quarterfinal win against Siegel (15-3-1) Wednesday, Oct. 23, and in the semifinal versus Page (16-6-2) Oct. 24.
Against Siegel, the Lady Bulldogs (19-2-1) had a whopping 28-3 edge in shots and a 16-3 advantage in shots-on-goal while winning easily 3-0.
A serious threat to break the all-time goals-scored school record in 2025, junior star forward Jayla Blue tallied all three BHS markers — all unassisted and coming after halftime (eight shots-on-goal). Halle Bibee ended with five shots-on-goal for Bearden.
Against Page, Bibee was the offensive star, scoring twice with four shots-on-goal in a 4-0 Lady Bulldogs rout.
With Bearden’s defense and midfield so strong that Page could not record a shot-on-goal, Maci Ritzman and Kennedy Lucas also tallied for BHS, which held a 27-2 overall shots advantage. Ritzman and Natalie Heinig provided assists.
Blue, meanwhile, did put five shots-on-goal in this match.
