In describing Highlands golfer Nate Surrey, “solid” was the adjective used by Bluebirds coach Bert Richey.
The Bluebirds could count on Surrey all season long to post a strong score, the senior doing so again this week at the Leachman-Buick-Cadillac/KHSAA Boys’ State Golf Championship at Bowling Green Country Club.
Surrey finished off the 36-hole tournament with a 74 on the second day, finishing with a two-day score of seven-over-par and good for a tie for 19th. It caps off a season for Surrey in which he finished as the regional runner-up and placed second in a couple of other tournaments. He’s put himself in position to earn second team All-State honors, based off the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association All-State points standings. He entered the state tournament tied for 27th in the standings, but with the state tournament heavily weighted to factor in the first and second team, Surrey could find himself in the top 20 with Wednesday’s result.
Surrey’s day consisted of six bogeys, four birdies and eight pars. He avoided the big number, a triple bogey in his first 18 on Tuesday forcing him to scramble to shoot a 77. After going two-over on the front nine on Wednesday, Surrey closed out even par on the back nine with two birdies and two bogeys mixed in with five pars. His last hole of his high school career is one for the positive, closing out with a birdie.
Surrey was one of nine from northern Kentucky to qualify for the final rounds of the state tournament. Three other individuals and St. Henry’s team qualified.
The Crusaders, one of the last nine standing in the state, finished off their season with an eighth-place finish. They tallied a 36-hole score of 649 (+73), shooting a 329 on the first day, 320 on the second day.
While they didn’t have a player crack 80 on Tuesday, three Crusaders shot under 80 on Wednesday paced by the Carter brothers. Will and Ben Carter shot 77’s, Will Hammond with a 79. Parker Isaacs shot an 87 with Jake Montgomery shooting an 88.
It caps off quite the memorable season for St. Henry. They won an All “A” state championship, a region championship, multiple tournaments and posted the lowest score in a tournament in program history with a 282 at the Beechwood Invitational at Hickory Sticks Golf Course on Aug. 1. They’re the last team standing from northern Kentucky, the lone team to qualify for the state tournament. Ben Carter won a regional title and the team carved out a path that will be hard to emulate for seasons to come.
Three other individuals from NKY finished off their seasons on the grand stage. Campbell County’s Talen Beane finished in the top 50 as his 36-hole score was 13-over-par. After shooting an 80 on Tuesday, Beane improved by three strokes with a 77 on Wednesday. The Camels junior will enter the 2025 season as one of the favorites to win the 8th Region.
Following Beane was Ben Carter, who also finished in the top 50 with a 36-hole score of 14-over. Will Carter and Ryle’s Hayden Li tied for 57th at 16-over-par. Li, a seventh grader was a surprise to even make it to Bowling Green and made a nice showing for himself with an 81 on Tuesday and a 79 on Wednesday. He hopes this will be the first of several trips over the next five years.
Covington Catholic’s Joseph Mangine was also making his first state tournament appearance, finishing 60th at 17-over-par. Mangine shot an 84 on Tuesday and improved his score by seven strokes with a 77 on Wednesday. Mangine came on strong at the end of the season, finishing runner-up at the region tournament and qualifying for Bowling Green by surviving a playoff in the first round at Shelbyville Country Club. The Colonels sophomore will now be one of the top contenders next season for a 7th Region title.
Hammond tied Mangine in 60th while Montgomery finished 85th and Isaacs 88th.
The team winner was Madison Central, the Indians winning a third straight state title and edging out Trinity by four strokes. Madison Central finished 20-over, shooting a 292 on Tuesday and a 304 on Wednesday. Trinity was 24-over, McCracken County defeating CAL by a stroke for third place at 38-over. Frederick Douglass and Taylor County tied for fifth at 47-over. Owensboro (+62), St. Henry (+73) and Pulaski County (+84) rounded out the team scoring.
Lexington Catholic’s Charlie Spiller won the individual title in dramatic fashion, heading to a three-way playoff at one-under with Pikeville’s Cam Roberts and Allen County-Scottsville’s Barton Rutledge. The playoff is a three-hole playoff, Spiller coming out on top after going two-under on the first day, one-over on the second day.
The state tournament puts a wrap on the boys season, the girls state tournament starts on Friday and runs through Saturday in Bowling Green. Five NKY girls golfers qualified for the state tournament: Cooper’s Reagan Ramage, Dixie Heights’ Tatjana Andracenko, Ryle’s Anika Okuda, Notre Dame’s Didi Jirdamkerng and Bishop Brossart’s Emma Laker.