Not even a rain-shortened second round could slow down Mitchell senior Connor Warren’s quest for a third consecutive 1A boys golf individual title.
Warren shot a 1-over-par 107 in the 27-hole tournament at 7 Lakes Golf Club in West End for his title and Mitchell won the state championship Tuesday for the second season in a row.
“Without the weather, I knew I was in the perfect spot,” Warren said Wednesday. “But it was out of my hands. I just let everything play out the way it was. I knew if we did play, I had a good chance of pulling it off just having been there before.”
Rain ended the weekend early, with the conditions causing the second round to be shortened to nine holes. It nearly threatened the second day entirely, and with Warren one stroke after the first 18 holes, the three-peat was on the line.
But they did get in nine holes on Tuesday, where Warren shot even 35 to take the title by three strokes.
“I’m definitely glad we played,” Warren said. “That was very nerve-wracking not knowing if we’d play or not. Everything playing out the way it did worked out perfectly.”
Warren become the third golfer in NCHSAA history to win three state titles and the first since Brendon Todd of Green Hope won in 2000, 2002 and 2003. To find the last golfer to three-peat, you’d have to go back to 1963-65, when South Mecklenburg’s Chuck Merriam claimed three titles in a row.
“Just to be even mentioned with those names … was awesome,” Warren said. “Only two other people have done that. That’s cool and exciting to see and be a part of.”
Warren said he was relieved to close out his career with a title after the pressure mounted on him. Coach Mitch Warren, Connor’s dad, said they discussed how this year was different because everyone expected him to win.
Mitchell ended the first day with an eight-stroke lead, but saw their lead shrink continuously on day two. They held off Mount Airy, however, to win the two-day event by three strokes with a score of 474.
Mitch Warren felt similar pressure to Connor as he tried to coach the Mountaineers to a second consecutive title.
“People expect it, in a way,” Mitch Warren said. “We lost our four-man from last year and returned our top three golfers. We put expectations on ourselves. That’s obviously what we wanted to do. It’s more pressure than the first time you do it.”
Senior Brody Miller finished second for the Mountaineers with a score of 118. He placed 15th overall. Sophomore Bryce Miller was 18 over and tied for 24th, and freshman Peyton Pitman’s score of 125 tieds for 28th.
Brody Miller was named a recipient of the 2024 NC Farm Bureau Sportsmanship Award, marking his third time being selected. Mitch Warren said the team joked about him being the only three-time sportsmanship award winner.
“I’m getting emotional because he’s a great kid. He’s just sort of the life of our team,” Mitch Warren said. “They come up and ask me (for a nominee). I don’t even have a second thought.”
The title is Mitchell’s second overall, following last year’s championship, when they became WNC’s first state champions since Tuscola in 2006. The Mountaineers finished second in 2022.
Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanGerike. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
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