Rockwell, Wood snatch sub-region golf titles

FRONT ROYAL — As James Wood golfer Brayden Rockwell approached the 18th hole at Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club on Thursday, he could barely see the green.

With the sun already set and the last sliver of daylight fading, the conditions were far from ideal.

But that didn’t stop Rockwell from birdying the final hole to shoot a 2-over-par 74 at the Region 4D North sub-region tournament, winning medalist honors by six strokes and leading his team to a first-place finish out of seven teams.

With wet conditions and late tee times, all of the seven participating teams, including Wood, struggled throughout the round. Rockwell started plus-four after the first four holes before shooting 2-under over the last 14 holes. Before Thursday, he had never finished a competitive tournament in the dark.

“I knew that my team was struggling a little bit, but I didn't know exactly how,” Rockwell said. “Obviously, I could hardly see the green on the last hole whenever I made my putt, but I just kind of hit it where I thought it was going to go and ended up putting it in, so it definitely was nice.”

Rockwell had four birdies on the day, including the 280-yard par-4 No. 18 hole that helped the Colonels finish with a four-person score of 334, 14 strokes lower than second-place Handley, which finished with a 348. Liberty (352) and Sherando (353) were just shy of the top two teams, placing third and fourth, respectively. Millbrook (363) finished fifth, Charlottesville (365) finished sixth and Orange County (369) placed seventh.

Jake Bursey hit an 8-over par 80, Ian Longo hit an 87 and Laney Stiles hit a 93 to round out the scoring for the Colonels.

James Wood head coach David Oates was happy to see his team rally in tough conditions.

“When I say everybody, all the teams really struggled today,” Oates said. “But our kids, I think their experience helped them hold on, even though things were getting sideways for a couple of them, especially on the back nine. So, we're very fortunate that we're able to move on, and we’re right where we want to be.”

With their placements, James Wood and Handley will compete in the Region 4D tournament on Monday at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club, where the top two teams will earn berths to the Class 4 state tournament. Among the participating teams will be three-time defending Class 4 state champion Blacksburg, which took first place in the South sub-region tournament on Tuesday after beating out second-place Salem by 25 strokes at Blacksburg Country Club.

Along with the Wood and Handley teams, Sherando’s Jackson Hepner (81), Millbrook’s Trenton Conley (81), Charlottesville's Charlie Wise (84) and Orange County’s Seth Bryant (84) all advanced to Monday’s tournament as individuals.

Rockwell is hoping Thursday’s performance can help boost Wood’s play heading into next week.

“I'm hoping it gives us some confidence,” Rockwell said. “Obviously, we didn't have our best today, but hopefully that'll help us to be confident going into next week and have everybody shoot good, and hopefully take it to states.”

Handley’s Nash Sharma was the Judges’ leading golfer, shooting a 9-over par 81 to help his team finish with a four-person score of 348, five strokes lower than Liberty and six strokes lower than fourth-place Sherando.

Adam Rosenfeld (86), Finn Slaughter (90) and Lang Shickle (91) were the other three leaders for the Judges.

Handley coach Troy Mezzatesta thought Sharma’s performance was vital in the Judges’ placement.

“Ultimately, I'm gonna have to put all this on Nash Sharma coming in here with an 81,” Mezzatesta said. “He's got the most experience. He was on last year's state-qualifying team. We've stuck with him at number one all year long. Even if Finn Slaughter maybe beat him a week, I'd still put him in as number one. He's our guy. He's our guy and our leader, our captain. He got it done for us today.”

Sherando’s scoring golfers alongside Hepner were Daniel Hill (85), Timmy Hill (91) and Landon Rust (96).

Sherando head coach Jonah Pearson thought Thursday’s performance was the culmination of a long season of hard work.

“We came up just fairly short, but what we did today compared to the beginning of the season ... I mean, we played fantastic, given the conditions," Pearson said. "Five strokes out of making it as a team. I'm really proud of them. We're gonna miss some of the seniors, but I'm super excited for Jackson, and I think all in all, that this is one of the best days I’ve had coaching.”

Other scoring golfers for Millbrook were Jude McGee (91), Tyler Learn (94) and Dylan Reich (97).

“I'm really proud of them because we had certain goals for this season, and we've exceeded them,” Millbrook coach Tim Deegan said. “Today was kind of a combination of things that we've been working on, but when it comes down to it overall, I would see the season as a huge success for us.”

— Contact Justin Robertson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

— Follow Justin Robertson on X @j_probertson