Four Peat for Lady Raider Golf sends Coffee County Back to State Tournament

CHS Lady Raider golfers with their region tournament plaque. Left to right are: Coach Mike Ray, Sophie Vinson, Savannah Quick, Ashley Gilliam and coach Marshall Gilliam. [Photo by DeMarco Murray – Manchester Times]

Four in a row……..for the 2nd time this week! The Coffee County Central High School Lady Raider golf team qualified for their 4th straight state tournament appearance with their 4th straight Region 4AAA Tournament championship. The region win comes after Coffee County won their 4th straight district championship on Monday. The Red Raiders came up short in their bid to make the state as a team. Samuel Prater and John Parigger both qualified for state as individuals.
Besides being the 4th straight team appearance, 2016 marks the 5th straight year that a Lady Raider golfer will compete at the state tournament. Coffee County outdistanced 2nd place Oakland 139 to 159 as the region winning team score of 5 under par is a new school record. Ashley Gilliam shot the low round of the day for Coffee County as she tamed the 18 hole course in 69 strokes to finish 2nd overall. Savannah Quick was 1 stroke back at 70 to finish 3rd individually and Sophie Vinson carded a 78. Coffee County finishes the season with a team record of 54 and 3 which also sets a new school record for winning percentage.

CHS Red Raider golfers (left to right) John Parigger, Samuel Prater and coach Mike Ray [Photo by DeMarco Murray – Manchester Times]

For the Red Raiders, it was once again the talented Wildcats of Tullahoma that stood in the way of the Raiders first ever region title. Coffee County finished 2nd in the region shooting a 312 to Tullahoma’s 293. Samuel Prater shot the low round of the day for Coffee County as he carded a 76. John Parigger carded a 77. Those finishes were good enough to qualify both of them for the state tournament. Parigger had to win a playoff hole to secure his 2nd straight state tournament bid as the Red Raiders will have a golfer compete at the state meet for the 4th consecutive year. Austin Farris finished with a 79 and Reid Lawrence got around in 80 strokes.
The TSSAA state golf tournament will take place on October 11th and 12th at Manchester’s own WIllowbrook Golf Club. Admission to attend each round is $8 per person and riding carts will NOT be available for spectators. Thunder Radio will keep you updated on tee times daily during the tournament.
For more information, you can check out the TSSAA website at: http://tssaa.org/2016-tssaa-state-golf-championships/