North Surry finishes runner-up at golf regionals; East's Badgett wins individual title

SALISBURY — Golfers from North Surry and East Surry took home hardware from the 2A Midwest Regional Championship.

North Surry finished regional runner-up as a team, while East Surry’s Pennson Badgett repeated as the individual medalist of the regional match.

North Surry’s top four scores at the Country Club of Salisbury added up to 321 strokes, or 37-over-par.

The Greyhounds were led by Campbell Hardy’s 18-hole score of 79 strokes (+7), which tied for 11th in the individual standings. Jackson Gardner and Logan Wall tied for 14th with a score of 80 (+8), and Brody York finished tied for 21st at 82 strokes (+10). Jansen Huff posted a score of 87 strokes (+15), but only the top four individual scores contributed to a school’s team score.

North Surry and regional champion Salisbury were the only two schools to have three golfers finish in the top 15 individually. Salisbury won the 2A Midwest Regional Championship with a team score of 312 (+28).

East Surry finished just behind North Surry with a score of 322 (+38). Pennson Badgett led the Cardinals at 72 strokes (+1), followed by Jace Goldbach tied for 11th with a score of 79 (+8). Rounding out East Surry’s team score was Truett Harrison tied for 17th with a score of 81 (+10), and Fletcher Gibson/Matthew Edwards tied for 40th with a score of 90 (+19).

Badgett claimed his second individual regional championship by topping 78 other golfers at the match. The sophomore previously won the title in 2023 before going on to win the 1A State Championship, and his brother Anderson won the regional championship in 2022.

Badgett won the individual championship by finishing two strokes ahead of the runner-up — fellow Foothills 2A Conference member Wills Eller of Wilkes Central. Eller was regional runner-up with a score of 74 (+3), and Wheatmore’s Ryan Marshall finished third at 75 (+3).

Salisbury, North Surry and East Surry all qualified for the 2A State Championship as teams by finishing in the top three. The state championship match will be held at Stonebridge Country Club on May 13-14.

Team Scores (to par)

1. Salisbury 312 (+28)

2. North Surry 321 (+37)

3. East Surry 322 (+38)

4. West Stanly 336 (+52)

5. East Davidson 339 (+55)

6. Forbush 347 (+63)

7. West Davidson 348 (+64)

8. McMichael 353 (+69)

9. Wheatmore 366 (+82)

10. Mount Pleasant 367 (+83)

11. North Stanly 368 (+84)

12. Trinity 370 (+86)

13. West Stokes 377 (+93)

Top Individual Scores (to par)

1. Pennson Badgett, East Surry, 72 (+1)

2. Wills Eller, Wilkes Central, 74 (+3)

3. Ryan Marshall, Wheatmore, 75 (+4)

T-4. Slater Meade, West Wilkes, 76 (+5)

T-4. Hunter Kallam, McMichael, 76 (+5)

T-4. Warren Fesperman, Salisbury, 76 (+5)

T-4. Riley Gooch, East Davidson, 76 (+5)

8. John McCoy, Salisbury, 77 (+6)

T-9. William Floyd, West Davidson, 78 (+7)

T-9. Ryan Collins, West Stanly, 78 (+7)