By Rocky Higginbotham
sports editor
Little Rock's Andy Ogletree solidified his stronghold on the Division D Player of the Year standings last week by winning the State Farm Insurance Mississippi Boys' Junior Amateur crown.
The tournament, a stop on the Mississippi Junior Golf Association tour, was held at the Mississippi State University Golf Course.
Ogletree, competing in the 10-11-year-old Division D, shot a 4-over-par 40 during first-day action, then completed the tourney with a 5-over 41 on the second day. He finished five strokes ahead of runnerup Noah Hill of Calhoun City and six strokes ahead of John Dumas of Brandon.
The win also gave Ogletree 705 points in his division's Player of the Year standings, with Madison's Daniel Dahmash a distant second at 590.
Ogletree wasn't the only area golfer competing in the Junior Amateur event, as Easton Key, Allen Massingill and Daniel Finan all turned in solid performances in a loaded Division A field.
Key finished tied for 24th overall after shooting 78-73-81 and finishing at 16-over-par 232 for the three-day event; while Massingill was tied for 36th with a 23-over 239. He shot 80-82-77. Finan shot 88-76-82 and finished 46th.
Chad Ramey of Fulton fired 76-72-68 and won in a playoff over Peyton Spring of Madison.
In Division B, Fletcher Johnson of Belden won by eight strokes over his nearest competitor with a three-day total of 3-under-par 213. Wills Scarbrough finished 22nd in the same division.
Ramey also leads the Division A Player of the Year standings with 670 points. Key is fourth at 438.47, Massingill is fifth at 432.5 and Chad Bounds of Meridian is seventh at 347.5.
Bounds shines in AJGA
While most of the area's junior golfers were competing in the Junior Amateur at MSU, Bounds was in Memphis turning in a solid performance in an American Junior Golf Association tour event.
Playing in the Stanford Financial Junior Championship hosted by David Gossett, Bounds shot 74-75-74 to finish with a 10-over-par 223. He wound up tied for 16th in the prestigious event, which included more than five dozen participants from 14 states. Brandon Rodgers of Knoxville, Tenn., won with a 76-65-68-209 on the par-71 TPC Southwind course.
Bounds was one of just two participants from Mississippi in the entire tourney.
Finan 12th in MS/LA event
After competing in the Junior Amateur, Finan made another stop on the MJGA tour last week when he played in the Mississippi/Louisiana Junior Championship Friday and Saturday.
Playing at the Wolf Hollow Golf Club in Wesson, Finan shot 83-87-170 to finish in 12th place overall. He wound up at 26-over-par, 17 shots behind winner Leland Dunning of Gautier.
Sports
Junior golf
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Neel leaving champion War Eagles for Panthers
Eric Neel spent three seasons coach at East Central. The Hornets played in three state championship games.
Neel then coached the past three years at Wayne County, leading the War Eagles to three straight Class 5A fast-pitch state crowns.
And now, he doesn’t see why the same can’t occur at Quitman. After guiding Wayne County to its third straight championship Saturday, Neel resigned his position in Waynesboro on Thursday to replace Kacie Roberson at Quitman. -
Unexpected Honor
Winning a state championship, that Blake McMullen expected.
To be named the Player of the Year in Class 3A by the Mississippi Association of Coaches, that caught the Southeast Lauderdale senior off guard. -
RCA’s Lee and pair of Generals chosen for All-Star tilt
Russell Christian Academy senior Camryn Lee and Newton County Academy duo Clay Upton and Dillon Williams will wrap up their senior seasons today.
The local trio will play in the MAIS All-Star Class A game at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson at 2 p.m. The Class AA-AAA game will follow. -
McFarland named first-team All-American for Jones County
The honors continue to come in for the Jones County Junior College softball program.
Pitcher Ginger Lonergan and centerfielder Relanda McFarland were both named to the NJCAA Division II All-American first-team on Thursday. -
A Family Affair
Five days. Two state titles. One family.
It’d be hard to find a family that had a better week than the one Robbi and Shay Cooper just experienced. -
Roundup — Stephens receives Sekul Award
Adding to his impressive collection of coaching hardware, East Mississippi Community College head football coach Buddy Stephens was presented with the 2011 George Sekul Award during the All-American Football Foundation’s Banquet of Champions held earlier this month at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
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The Drought Is Over
All Mason Irby was hoping for was to find a way on base.
The Southeast Lauderdale sophomore did that and so much more. Irby's single with two outs in the seventh inning broke a tie, lifting the Tigers to a 6-3 MHSAA Class 3A state championship win at Smith-Wills Stadium on Wednesday, and handing Southeast (32-7) its first title since 1966. -
Ramey shines again, hurls Tigers to MHSAA Class 3A crown
The bar was set pretty high.
After all, Southeast Lauderdale senior right-hander Colby Ramey needed just 65 pitches to beat Kossuth in Game 1 of the MHSAA Class 3A state championship game Thursday.
However, according to fellow senior Blake McMullen, Ramey cleared the hurdle Wednesday when he scattered eight hits on 104 pitches to finish off the Aggies in a 6-3 state championship-clinching win at Smith-Wills Stadium on Wednesday. -
Southeast wins MHSAA Class 3A Championsip
Slideshow from the MHSAA Class 3A state championship game between Southeast Lauderdale and Kossuth.
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Briarwood to host Emerald Coast Golf Tour in June
Professional golf is coming to Meridian.
The Emerald Coast Golf Tour will be holding the Meridian Pro-Am Classic at Briarwood Country Club June 26-29. - More Sports Headlines
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Neel leaving champion War Eagles for Panthers

