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Womack in contention at state tournament
bracton-womack
Bracton Womack tees off from the second hole in the state golf tournament. Womack shot an even 72 Tuesday, putting him in the top 10 of the 72-player field. Womack will play the final round at WillowBrook Wednesday.

Bracton Womack is making the most of his time at the TSSAA state golf tournament. The junior Pioneer put himself in contention for a state title after shooting an even 72 Tuesday at WillowBrook golf course.
When Womack finished his round, he was in a six-way tie for eighth place. The standings continued to shake up after Womack turned in his card, leaving the Pioneer to wait and see how far he was from the leader. When all 72 golfers finished Tuesday, Womack fell to ninth place, six shots behind leader Spencer Cross.

Cross, a senior from Sevier County, finished the day with a 6-under, 66 at WillowBrook. He was at his best on the front nine, where four birdies helped Cross build a three-stroke lead after the first day. Dylan Lillard (Walker Valley) and Chase Kephart (Ravenwood) each finished Tuesday at 3-under.

Also ahead of Womack on the leaderboard are Dobyns Bennett's William Nottingham and Farragut's Tyler Johnson (both 2-under) and the trio of Chip Thomas (Farragut), Ryan Hall (Knoxville Halls) and Jack Rhea (Science Hill) at 1-under.

Womack, who qualified as an individual, got off to a hot start with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 10 and 11. He would go on to finish the back nine at 1-under after dropping one stroke with a bogey on the par-3, No. 17.
A lengthy rain delay forced Womack and the field of 127 golfers off the course midway through Tuesday's first round.
When the hour-long delay ended, Womack got started on the front nine with four straight pars, but slipped to even following a bogey on No. 6. He finished his round with three more pars.
While Womack shined, the Lady Pioneers struggled in their third straight visit to the state tournament. The Warren County girls are eighth in team standings, 22 strokes behind first-place Houston.
Senior Saylem Powell (31st on the individual scoreboard) finished Tuesday 13-over, followed by Brynn Craven (T-36th) at 16-over. Valeria Vargas was 25-over and ended the day in 46th. The Lady Pioneer team score of 173 was taken from Powell's and Craven's rounds.
Brighton's Aubree Jones shot 1-under to lead after the first day on the girls side. Jones has won the event the last two years in Manchester.
Round two is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Live scoring is available at tssaa.org.