Chatham rolls to Dogwood District title

Team scores

Chatham - 307
Appomattox - 321
Gretna - 337
Altavista - 347
Dan River - 350
Nelson County - 351
William Campbell - 358

Those conditions, which included a brief shower that halted play for 30 minutes, did not slow down Chatham.

Drew Arnold shot a 3-under par 68 to lead the Cavaliers to their second consecutive Dogwood District golf tournament victory, defeating Appomattox by a score of 307-321.

“Today, I played really well and I was dialed in with my wedges,” Arnold said after being named Dog-wood District golfer of the year. “I kept the ball in play off the tee and didn’t make any silly mistakes. Kept making solid pars and the birdies fell.

“I’ve been trying to give myself birdie opportunities and keep hitting wedges close and keep giving my-self shots at it for birdie.”

The victory capped Chatham’s second consecutive undefeated season in district play, which marked the second straight trip the Region B tournament as a team, and gave the Cavaliers a clean sweep in the awards category. Along with Arnold’s player of the year award, Don Yard was honored as the Dogwood District coach of the year.

“I’ll just say all the players have worked really hard and they really deserve what they get,” Yard said. “They’re dedicated. They’ve even improved from last year to this year. I’m very proud of them.”

By virtue of Chatham winning both the Dogwood District regular-season and tournament titles, Appo-mattox’s second-place finish in the tournament secured the Raiders of a berth in the Region B tournament.

The Raiders finished fifth in the Group A state tournament a year ago, one shot behind third-place Chat-ham.

“They are deeper and that’s what makes them so great,” Appomattox coach Doug Marshall said. “Chat-ham has been tough to get by the last couple of years. They developed a team, coach Yard has done a great job at Chatham getting them prepared and they will be a force.”

The top six individuals that were not on Chatham or Appomattox advanced to the Region B tournament as individuals. William Campbell’s Colby Francis shot a 78, Gretna’s Tyler Lecik and Dan River’s Taylor Bowman both shot a 79, Dan River’s Michael Chattin carded an 81 and Leighton Bennett of Altavista shot an 82.

There was a one-hole playoff between Nelson County’s Josh Alderfer and Altavista’s Scott Robertson, who both shot an 83. Alderfer defeated Robertson to claim the final Region B spot.

“I hit a lot of good drives and my iron game really stepped up,” Francis said, “and that’s what really held me together.”

Appomattox senior Patrick Mayberry shot a 77, good for second place in the gusty conditions. Colby’s 78 was the third best score and five players, two from Chatham, shot a 79.

“Chatham is a very, very good team,” Mayberry said. “Last year, we lost to them the same way we lost to them this year, but if we come out and play to what we’re capable of, I think we can beat them.”

Dan River was the only team, other than Chatham and Appomattox, to send multiple players to region play.