Jared's World

They’ve had the long drives since the beginning, but a developing short game has Mercer’s girls golf team on the fast track just before regional competition.

Lauren Yates shot a season low 41 to lead the team to a season low score of 179 Thursday night as the Lady Titans defeated East Jessamine High School at Bright Leaf. Co-captain Ally Perrin was close behind with a score of 43 on the night.

The team impressed head coach Terry Dailey from the first practices with their long drives. The girls have worked very hard to improve their games on the greens and it’s starting to pay off in the late stretch.

Dailey said the girls have been experimenting with different equipment, but that the small tweaks have made dividends on the course.

“Different club selection and better technique has made the difference around the green. These changes take time for everyone to become comfortable with,” Dailey said.

“We feel like we are peaking at the right time with the region just a little over a week away and we are excited about finishing the season playing our best.”

Mercer County as a whole had several runners step up big and represent at the 2009 Boyle County Invitational Thursday night.

The Burgin boys were the top team at the meet, while freshman runner Alex Beckerson earned his first winning time of the season. The Bulldogs now have four wins in four meets while Beckerson has finished 2nd, 2nd, 2nd and 1st individually. Beckerson’s mother and assistant coach Darla Beckerson said the team had a special nickname for Alex after his string of “close but no cigar” finishes.

“He has been placing 2nd so often lately, that we’ve started calling him silver,” Beckerson joked.

Burgin’s Mackenzie Kibler took first place in the girls middle school run, covering 1.9 miles in 12:53. Mercer eighth grader Jacob Crowell won the boys middle school race with a time of 11:29, while teammate Dean Tyler picked up third with 11:57.

Mercer girls: Down 1-0 at the half, the Lady Titans surged for two goals in the second. They surrendered a goal for the tie score and were unable to score in extra time. Final score: 2-2 tie.

Mercer boys: The Titans ran away with the competition with two goals in the first half. After beating Pulaski by five in the season opener, Mercer stretched the lead to three and walked away with the shutout win. Final score: 3-0.

For pictures from both games, click here to check out The Harrodsburg Herald’s sports Flickr page.

Mercer is now 2-3, picking up a win in their first district game of the season.

Missing two starters, the team buckled down on defense and came out on top in the second game of Mercer’s MYSA night doubleheader.

For more information on the team’s games, check out this week’s edition of The Harrodsburg Herald. For pictures from the game, check out The Harrodsburg Herald’s sports Flickr page.