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Final Schooldays matches end on exciting notes

Joseph Spears
Nashville Tennessean

From the same colored shirts to the exciting way they finished their matches, this year's winners of the Tennessean/Metro Parks Schooldays Golf Tournament had a lot in common.

Wilson Central's Trey Melvin won the boys tournament, while Harpeth Hall's Weatherly Spence won on the girls side at McCabe Golf Course to become the first new champion in three years. 

"I'm just excited and happy about how everything went, and I'm happy for my parents and my coach," said Spence, who beat Gallatin's Abigail Gornicki 3 and 2. "I don't even have words to express how happy I am. I know that they're really proud of me, and they've been there with me every step of the way."

Schooldays:Full results from the tournament

Spence took a three-stroke lead early then watched as Gornicki cut into it. By the time they finished their first nine holes, they were even. 

Spence pushed her lead back to three strokes and went to the 16th hole with a chance to win it.

Wilson Central's Trey Melvin won the boys tournament, while Harpeth Hall's Weatherly Spence won on the girls side.

Both golfers had a chance to birdie the hole. Gornicki did so from about 15 feet away and looked like she was in prime position to cut into Spence's lead and keep the match alive. Spence had other plans, though, as she birdied her putt to halve the hole and put the match out of reach for Gornicki.

"She matched me to end it, so I can't really compete with that. But (it) was a lot of fun, though," Gornicki said. "It was intense, and you could tell we were both really into it throughout the day. I really enjoyed it, and it was a good experience for my first time qualifying."

On the boys side, Melvin and Hendersonville's Landon Word battled back and forth through the first 16 holes in a match that was nearly identical to the girls match. Melvin led by two or three strokes for a majority of the match, but Hill cut into his lead every so often.

As they went to the 17th hole, Word had a chance to force the match to go to the final hole, with a makeable putt from just a few feet out.

But Melvin holed out from a bunker from about 20 feet out to win it. 

"It was a pretty crazy finish to hole a bunker shot," Melvin said. "That doesn't happen much, and this just feels great. It's been a long few days, and it just feels good to be able to pull it off."

Boys 12-13

Maddox Crowder beat Will Pinson 3 and 2 to win his age group for a second straight year. 

Reach Joe Spears at jspears2@gannett.com or 731-343-4923. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @joe_spears7.