Tharpe leads Wilkes County at regional tourney

The East Wilkes junior and two-time Mountain Valley Athletic Conference Golfer of the Year was one of four Wilkes County girls’ golfers to compete in North Carolina High School Athletic Association 1A/2A regional golf tournaments.

Tharpe, who competed in the 1A/2A Central regional tournament at Cedarbrook Country Club in Elkin, advanced to the NCHSAA state tournament with her performance.

She finished tied for fourth place, with Mount Pleasant’s Abbie Daquila with an 82, and East Wilkes Head Coach Barry Byrd feels Tharpe is playing her best golf of the season at exactly the right time.

Tharpe will play in the 1A/2A state championships this coming Monday and Tuesday at Foxfire Golf and Resort in Foxfire Village.

“We were excited about hosting regionals again at our home course and Ava and Laci (Anderson) both qualified and both are members there so we are very familiar with the course,” said Byrd. “This was Ava’s third trip to the regionals and she was coming off her career low round in the final regular season match (on Oct. 3), which was also at Cedarbrook, so she was eager to get back out there.”

Anderson and Tharpe were part of the first two tee times on Monday, according to Byrd, and “any nervous energy got settled quickly.”

Anderson, a freshman who played in her first regionals competition, carded a 106. While Anderson’s season came to an end, Byrd felt it was a great experience to build on for the future.

“I’m proud of both of the girls. Ava will represent East Wilkes proudly at Foxfire Resort next week and Laci had a great experience and knows what it takes to get back to regionals,” said Byrd. “We are already excited to see what next year will be like for us. Both girls love the game and will continue to get stronger and better.”

For just the second time in the program’s short history, North Wilkes was represented in a regional and a pair of Vikings, Megan Brown and Hannah Triplett, took part in the 1A/2A West Regional at Cedar Rock Country Club in Lenoir.

Triplett shot a 127 and Brown carded a 136 and North Wilkes Head Coach Kate Brown felt the girls played well on a difficult course and is excited about the future of the young program.

Both the Vikings and Cardinals started their programs in the fall of 2014 and prior to this fall, just one North Wilkes player — Laken Harrold in 2016 — had competed in a regional.

“The girls played their best on a tough course and the day went well overall; I was so pleased with the fact that we even made it to regionals this year,” said Brown. “There is no question that states should be on our horizon for next year.”

Notes: Mount Airy’s Alyssa Cox won the 1A/2A Central Regional title with a 73 (just nine strokes ahead of Tharpe) while Maiden’s Kayla Yang shot a 71 to win the 1A/2A West Regional championship by 10 strokes. Hibriten won the West Regional team championship with a 289 and Lake Norman Charter won the Central Regional team title with a 278. In addition to Tharpe, Alleghany’s Lauren Carpenter and Cortlyn Blythe, along with Ashe County’s Jadyn Trivett, will represent the MVAC at the state championships.