Signal Mountain teammates battled tooth-and-nail for the Sneds Tour's Open at Ooltewah over the weekend.
Senior Benji Lewis and junior Tucker Cruise both fired 2-under-par 70s on the Ooltewah Club course Saturday and were just one shot apart in Sunday's final 18 holes.
Firing a total of seven birdies and 30 pars in the event, Lewis claimed the title with a 2-over 74, surviving a bogey on the final hole that opened the door for a possible tie.
Cruise, who had opened the tournament with a bogey, par, eagle, plus two more birdies in the following four holes, couldn't capitalize, making a par on the last hole for a 3-over 75.
He also sank 30 pars to go with a half dozen birdies and the eagle to counter six bogeys in the 36-hole event.
Hixson's Brycen Blake and Will Elrod, of Rocky Face (Ga.), were just a shot back with 146s. Blake carded an even-par 72 to go with a 2-over 74, while Elrod had a 1-under 71 on opening day and a 3-over 75 in the final round.
Lookout Mountain's Pierce Grant took fifth place with matching 3-over 75s.
Sinking five birdies, Polk County junior Jaxon Swafford finished sixth, opening with a 2-over 74 before firing a 5-over 77 Sunday, to come up just a stroke shy of fifth place with a 151 total.
Walker Valley sophomore Drew Thompson was right on Swafford's heels with a 78-74 — 152, with a trio of birdies and 27 pars.
Mustang junior teammate Harrison Yost (78-75) sank nine birdie putts, but also had 11 bogey-plus holes, while Cleveland High junior Dalton Franklin (75-78), with four birdies, tied for eighth place with 153 tallies.
It was a battle of the Bustos boys in the 14 & Under heated action.
Chattanooga eighth-grader Martín Bustos ran away with the championship trophy following up an even-par 72 opening round before finishing strong with a 3-under-par 69 Sunday.
He fired a half dozen birdies and an eagle, plus 31 pars to claim the crown.
Younger brother Simón Bustos took the runner-up spot with a 2-over 74, including four birdies, leaving him just two shots back after the opening 18. However, he slipped to an 82 on Sunday for a 156 total.
Johnson City's Crockett Mullins was third at 85-80 — 165, with Lake Forest eighth-grader Geno Klus sinking five birdies, three of which came on the opening nine holes Saturday, on his way to an 82-86 — 168 for fourth place.
McCallie eighth-grader Ben Brennan, from McDonald, rounded out the Top 5 with an 84-89 — 173, with Lookout Mountain's Fletcher Wakefield sixth with an 87-90 — 177.
Cleveland's John Beasley (88-93 — 181) and Miles Duncan (93-96 — 189) followed in seventh and eighth.
Eliya Brandes came all the way from Nashville to take the Girls 12-18 crown, draining four birdie putts on her way to a 4-over 76 the first day and a final round 1-over 73, giving her a 149 tally.
Hixson's Katie Tudor was just three shots back, earning runner-up honors with a 2-over 74, plus a 6-over 78, for a 152 total.
Ooltewah sophomore GibbieKay Cain, who recently transferred from Boyd Buchanan to IMG Academy in Orlando, edged Bradley Central senior Colby AnnTurner for third place by a stroke.
Signal Mountain freshman Madison O'Dell rounded out the Top 5 with an 80-84 — 164 total.