After one day of the state golf tournament, no team can claim to be better than the Lady Pioneers.
The Warren County High School girls golf team finished the first 18 holes of the state tournament at Willow Brook golf course in a three-way tie for first place with Rossview and Science Hill.
Freshman Hannah Powell shot 80 for the Lady Pioneers – putting her in the top 10 of the individual state title – while combining with sophomore Saylem Powell’s 82  to make Warren County one of the contenders for the team state title
The Lady Pioneers two-player team score of 162 was the same as rounds shot by Science Hill and Rossview in the eight-team tournament. Rossview’s Hannah Long shot 82 and Caroline Caudill came in at 78 while Science Hill got rounds of 81 from Allison Woodward and Addison Baggarly.
Not many people gave Warren County a chance entering the state tournament, but the Lady Pioneers used their familiarity with WillowBrook to surge into an early lead. After each team had all its players finish nine holes, Warren County had a three-stroke advantage due to a fast start.
Hannah Powell was the first Lady Pioneer on the course and gave spectators a preview of things to come as she pounded her drive on No. 1 straight down the fairway. It was part of a first nine that saw Hannah shoot 40, including closing with a birdie on No. 9 before the turn.
Any jitters the freshman from Warren County felt at the start of Tuesday’s play seemed to fade as she notched a late birdie on No. 16 to close the day in a tie for the third-place round. The leader was Hannah’s playing partner Aubree Jones from Brighton. Jones shot an even-par 72 on the first day.
Saylem also got her round started successfully on No. 1 despite an errant drive. Saylem was able to scramble out of the rough and chipped to within five feet to save par. Saylem went on to par six holes on the front nine and cleared the water on the par-4, No. 6 for a birdie to go into the turn at plus-2.
Saylem made it five straight pars when she finished even on No. 10 and 11, but a bogey on No. 12 snapped the streak and started a new one. Saylem bogeyed the final seven holes, leaving the sophomore 10 strokes off Jones’ leading pace.
Lady Pioneer Brittany Myers had her ups and downs Tuesday, finishing with four pars and two birdies on her way to a round of 89, but the junior will have a chance to redeem herself Wednesday.
The final round begins Wednesday at 8 a.m.
The best two Lady Pioneer scores from Wednesday will be added to Tuesday’s total to determine the team tournament winner. Saylem and Hannah can also try to overtake Jones to win the individual tournament, which includes 52 golfers.
Full coverage of the final day will appear in Friday’s Southern Standard.