Two of the three defending South Carolina Girls High School champions from last year are in position to win another championship.

AAAAA champion Lexington is the only 2018 state champion that is not leading after the first round of 2019 tournament play.

AAAA Championship

Chloe Holder from Wren has the individual lead in the AAAA championship. (GolfClub file photo)

Daniel leads the AAAA tournament being played on Hilton Head Island at Shipyard Plantation.

The Lions shot a 321 total to hold a commanding lead over Wren after the first round.

“We got some really good play from our third and fourth players,” said golf coach Andy Swords. “Our number one and two players should be able to shave a couple of shots off their total in the final round,” he said.

The Lions were led by Jennifer Gao who carded a 78. Peyton O’Brien was one shot back at 79.

Adrienne O’Brien, Courtney Collins and Sarah Whitfield helped Daniel to a 31 shot lead.

AAAA-Team Scores: Daniel 321; Wren 352; Belton Honea-Path 360; AC Flora 368; Myrtle Beach 375; Hilton Head 378; North Myrtle Beach 379; Pickens 381; Greenville 396; Blue Ridge 399; Walhalla 402; Hartsville 417

Individually, Wren’s Chloe Holder has a two shot lead over her teammate Katelyn Lee and Kennedy McGaha from Belton Honea-Path.

AAAA-Individual Scores: Chloe Holder, Wren 72; Katelyn Lee, Wren 74; Kennedy McGaha, BHP 74; Cara Hilburn, North Myrtle Beach, 77; Jennifer Gao, Daniel 78; Peyton O’Brien, Daniel 79; Izzy Stone, Beaufort 79; Courtney Collins, Daniel 81; Adrienne O’Brien, Daniel 83; Taylor Pirttima, Myrtle Beach, 84.

AAA Championship

Rachel Rich from Oceanside has the individual lead at the AAA state championship. Rich shot a 5-under par 67 in the first round. (GolfClub file photo)

Oceanside Collegiate arguably is the best high school team in the state and they played like the top team in the first round of the AAA championship at the Hackler Course in Conway.

The Landsharks are trying for their third straight state title.

Oceanside posted an impressive 285 total to lead the field. Chesnee is in second place after shooting a 303 total to trail by 18 shots. Gilbert is in third place after carding a 322 total.

AAA-Team Scores: Oceanside Collegiate 285; Chesnee 303; Gilbert 322; May River 325; Greer Middle 345; St. Joseph’s 345; Bishop England 352; Legion Collegiate 362; Catawba Ridge 367; Landrum 368; Loris 368; Pendleton 374; Ware Shoals 378; Aynor 381; Waccamaw 389; Christ Church 391; Seneca 397

The Landsharks top five golfers include four of the top-15 players in the South Carolina Junior Girls rankings. After the first round of the state championship Oceanside has four golfers in the top eight.

Rachel Rich, the 2018 WSCGA Junior Champion has the lead after shooting a 5-under par 67. Teammate Emma Schimpf and Chesnee’s Sydney Roberts are tied for second after rounds of 3-under par 69.

AAA Individual Scores: Rachel Rich, Oceanside 67; Emma Schimpf, Oceanside Collegiate 69; Sydney Roberts, Chesnee 69; Isabella Britt, Chesnee 72; Kennedy Gooding, Gilbert 73; Kaitlyn Hagler, Pendleton 74; Kayla Bartemeyer, Oceanside Collegiate 74; Abbey Schimpf, Oceanside Collegiate 75; Ally Moss, Gilbert 75; Buggy Reinke, Legion Collegiate 75.

AAAAA Championship

Boiling Springs’ MK Talledo posted a 1-over par round to be in third place going into the final round at the AAAAA championship. (Golfclub File Photo)

Lexington’s bid to win their fourth straight championship and the 14th title for the school is within reach, but the Wildcats will have to get past their neighbor from Blythewood.

The Bengals, one of the few teams that has a win over Lexington in tournament play this year, holds a three shot lead over the Wildcats going into the final round at the Mid Carolina Club in Prosperity.

Blythewood has the team lead and the individual leader in the championship.

Ella Stalvey holds a one-shot lead over Karlee Vardas from Lexington. Stalvey shot a 1-under par round on the par 73 course.

Upstate AAAAA qualifying tournament winner MK Talledo from Boiling Springs is in third place at 1-over par.

Talledo’s teammate Madison Dixon is in a tie for fourth place helping the Bulldogs to third place in the team competition.

AAAAA Team Scores: Blythewood 319, Lexington 322, Boiling Springs 331, St James 353, Wando 355, Byrnes 357, Chapin 362, Dorman 362, Carolina Forest 363, Fort Dorchester 371, Nation Ford 380, TL Hanna 393, Spartanburg 398, Mauldin 398, Conway 408, Stratford 414.

AAAAA Individual Scores: Ella Stalvey, Blythewood 72; Karlee Vardas, Lexington 73; MK Talledo 74; Alayna Fortenberry, Carolina Forest 77, Madison Dixon, Boiling Springs 77, Adrian Anderson, St. James 79, Emily Baker, Chapin 79; Lora Ledbetter, Conway 79; Emily Beiers, Lexington 81; Zoe Bowers, Nation Ford 79, Anika Rana, Byrnes 79, Molly Hardwick, Lexington 81; Victoria Callahan, Carolina Forest 81.

Complete scoring available at https://www.birdiefire.com/tournament/61115/