By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Sylvan Hills boys’ golf team won the 5A-Central Conference tournament for the first time since 2008 Tuesday at the Mountain Springs Course in Cabot. Senior Bear David Talcott was the tournament medalist with a round of 82. Talcott stumbled coming in, shooting a double bogey on the 522-yard par 5 No. 9. But he immediately made those two shots up as he made the turn onto the back nine. Talcott birded the 10th and 11th hole and was on his way to a six-stroke win over second-place Landon Davis of Beebe.
The Bears beat second-place Pulaski Academy by 19 strokes in the team competition. Sylvan Hills’ Dalton Schuster shot a 93 while Ethan Williamson and Nathan Martin each shot a 99 for the Bears for a 379 total. Beebe finished third with a team total of 412.
“No one shot their best scores,” said Sylvan Hills coach Greg Frantal. “The course was playing very hard. They can definitely shoot better than that, but it was great for these guys to get the first championship for the school in quite a while.”
Pulaski Academy’s Audrey Pulliam won the girls’ event, which consisted of only 11 players. PA and Beebe brought full teams, and the only other female competitor was Jacksonville’s Haley Elmore, who finished second behind Pulliam. The girls played just nine holes, and Pulliam shot a 38 to earn medalist honors.
Beebe finished second in the boys’ and girls’ tournaments, and both qualified for state with their scores. The girls’ 5A state tournament will be Sept. 30 at Hot Springs Country Club, while the boys will play at the Harrison Country Club on Oct. 5-6.
Frantal believes Harrison and Hot Springs Lakeside are the favorites in the boys’ state tournament, but thinks his team can compete.
“Harrison came down and played at Cyrpress Creek,” Frantal said. “We went over there and really shot pretty close to our best scores, and they still beat us by 10 strokes. So I want them to compete and leave there knowing they gave it their best.”
