By Mark Carpenter

People’s Defender

On August 7, the titles for next year were on the line at Hilltop Golf Course as the county’s four high school boys golf teams met for the 2024 Adams County Cup Tournament. It was a perfect day for the 18-hole tournament, and while golf can be a fun sport from day to day, the assumption from the start was that last year’s results would repeat, when North Adams’ Breestin Schweickart won the individual title and the Green Devils claimed their second consecutive Cup trophy as a team.

One of those two outcomes actually came to pass, as the North Adams squad, led by new head coach Corey Richmond, took home its third consecutive team title, edging second-place Manchester by seven strokes. The individual contest, however, was a different story. Schweickart was hoping for his third straight Cup title, but Manchester junior Parker Hayslip had other plans. In what might be considered an upset unless you were on the Greyhounds’ side, Hayslip jumped out to an early lead on the first nine holes and then held it to play at three over par, enough to beat Schweickart by two strokes.

In his final County Cup as a senior, Schweickart got off to a rocky start, shooting a seven on the fourth hole and trailing four shots after eight holes. He recovered three of those shots with a birdie on the par-3 9th, while Hayslip made a double bogey to finish the first nine holes with a one-shot lead. The Greyhound junior maintained that lead over the second nine holes, adding a shot to become the new individual champion of the Adams County Cup, denying Schweickart the chance to become the first player to ever win three straight at the tournament. Ironically, the two are close friends and can be found on the course together quite often during the summer months.

“It feels pretty good, I’m just happy I won,” said Hayslip. “When I made 15 birdies and Breestin made par, I was three holes ahead and knew I just had to make par to win.”

“If I had to lose to someone, I’m glad it was Parker,” Schweickart commented after the tournament.

In the team competition, North Adams had to prevail against Manchester and won its third trophy in a row. The team ranking is based on the top four golfers from each team. In the end, the Devils had 319 and the Greyhounds 326.

“I thought it went well,” said NAHS coach Richmond. “The boys had a slow start, but they pulled themselves together on the second nine holes and played well until the end. I’m happy for my seniors who were able to take the team win.”

In addition to Schweickart (76), North Adams had two other golfers in the top five, junior Christopher Hall (78) and senior Connor Young (80). The rest of the 2024 All-County team consisted of a trio of golfers who finished the day with 82 points – Thomas Barnhart of Manchester and Landon McIntosh and Zach Shoemaker of West Union.

The final individual results for the 2024 Cup were as follows:

• North Adams: Breestin Schweickart 76, Christopher Hall 78, Connor Young 80, Caleb DeAtley 85, Carsyn Raines 91, Cash Hupp 94

• Manchester: Parker Hayslip 74, Thomas Barnhart 82, Joel Blythe 84, Bryce Young 86, Ryan Mack 88, Elijah Crabtree 93

• West Union: Landon McIntosh 82, Zach Shoemaker 82, Tegan Knox 85, AJ Cooper 86, Sam Griffis 89, Carsen Francis 95

• Peebles: Garrett Shiveley 86, Calen Vogler 95, Colt Seaman 102, Andy McFarland 111, Cooper Meade 111, Cole Henderson 136

Final standings of the teams in the 2024 Adams County Cup: North Adams 319, Manchester 326, West Union 335, Peebles 394