The champions of the Jim Sievers Junior Classic were crowned on Wednesday at The Honors Course. Pictured from left are Lyla Silecchia (Girls 12-14), Katie Tuder (Girls 15-18), Fletcher Wakefield (Boys 12-13), Mason Bankston (Boys 14-15) and Dalton Franklin (Boys 16-18)
photo by Contributed
Five junior golfers capped a successful summer in Chattanooga District Golf Association competition on Wednesday at The Honors Course by walking away as champions. The season-ending match play showdown now dubbed The Jim Sievers Junior Classic marked the 40th year of the event.
Lyla Silecchia entered yesterday’s semifinals as the top seed in the Girls 12-14 division, and she managed to validate her ranking with a hard-fought win over Harper Wakefield that went 19 holes before a winner was determined.
Silecchia took an early 2-up lead only to have Wakefield bounce back to grab a 1-up advantage at the turn. Silecchia then regained a 1-up lead after 15, but Wakefield salvaged a win on 18 with a double bogey to force extra holes. Silecchia then won her match on the next hole to claim the title.
In the Girls 15-18, Katie Tuder won the championship with a 3 & 2 decision over Haley Talley. Tuder, a junior at Baylor, turned a 1-down shortfall after six holes into a commanding 4-up advantage thru 11 by winning five holes in a row. Talley, who attends Gordon Lee, fought back with a pair of late winners, but Tuder’s birdie at the par-3 14th provided an insurmountable lead.
Fletcher Wakefield won the Boys 12-13 age bracket by defeating Owen Morrow, 7 & 6. After dropping the opening hole, Wakefield won eight of the next 10 holes. He moved to 7-up with a birdie at 11 and sealed the match with a par on the next hole.
The Boys 14-15 bracket was claimed by Mason Bankston with a 4 & 2 win over Jaxon Swafford. Bankston broke open a match that was all-square after five holes with three wins over the next four holes to go 3-up at the turn. Swafford was able to win back one hole before Bankston sealed the match with wins at 15 with a birdie and a par at 16.
Cleveland’s Dalton Franklin was the winner of the Boys 16-18, winning a close match with McCallie’s Nate Coffman by a 2 & 1 count. Franklin got off to a hot start by winning the first three holes, only to see Coffman trim his deficit to one at the turn. Consecutive birdies at 11 and 12 by Franklin led to a 4-up advantage, and he was able to withstand a late charge by Coffman to close out the match on 17.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com