It was a mid course correction that helped the defending AAAAA champs from Hanna storm back to win their second straight state title.

The Yellow Jackets came from 5-shots off the lead to finish the tournament at 291 and the win.

After the first round Hanna was in third place. The Yellow Jackets didn’t play bad, Chapin and Dorman played just a little better.

Coach Eric Bona got his team together in the evening and went hole by hole asking the players to help develop a game plan for each hole in the second round.

“We had a plan for the first round, but it didn’t work as well as we wanted it to,” said Bona. “That was on us coaches. so we asked the players to share what worked and what didn’t and we made some adjustments,” said the Hanna coach.

The adjustments worked to the tune of improving the Yellow Jackets score from a first round 302 to a tournament best 291 on the second day.

“We talked to the players and looked at three or four specific holes. The way we played them we gave up some shots to the other teams. The boys made some suggestions and we worked out a plan and they followed it,” said the Hanna coach.

Last year the Scaletta brothers, Jackson and Bennett led the team to the state title. This year it was two middle of the line up golfers who took the lead in bringing another championship back to Anderson.

Erik Erlenkeuser led the Hanna team in scoring in the second half of the season. His rounds of 70 and 72 kept him in contention for the individual lead as well as helping the team move past Dorman and Chapin.

“We’ve all been working very hard to get better and win again,” said Erlenkeuser. “I had not shot a round over 72 in the past several tournaments. I’ve been hitting the ball well and my putting has also been very good. I expected to play well this week,” said Erlenkeuser.

The Yellow Jackets also got a solid performance out of junior Cade Olsommer, who contributed counting scores in both rounds.

“I got a lot of confidence from my practice round. I hit every green. Instead of putting to the hole, I practiced putting to the spots marked where the holes would be and that helped me the last two days,” said Olsommer.

The two middle of the lineup players finished third and fifth individually. Bennett Scaletta, last year’s medalist finished 11th. Jackson Scaletta and Cal Harbin rounded out the winning team.

“I’m really happy we were able to pick up some of the slack because those guys (Scaletta brothers) have picked up for us a bunch of times,” added Olsommer.

Hanna’s coach gives as much credit for his teams success to the attitude expressed by Olsommer as much as the Yellow Jackets outstanding play.

“We have a group of really good kids. They are not only teammates, but also friends and they push each other to get better by being good friends,.” said Bona.

Hanna has now won two straight titles and with a team only losing one senior, more titles could be in the future.

“The only senior we lose is Jackson Scaletta, but it is a big loss. He is the guy who all the players look up to. He sets the pace and the rest of the team sees how hard he works and it has rubbed off on all of them. We appreciate everything he has done for us,” said Bona, about the future Air Force Academy golfer.

When glancing through the Palmetto Finest (SCHSL) Record Book you will see a number of teams with one state title, Not every school can win even one title much less two as Hanna has just done,

“A second championship proves our kids can play. Last year wasn’t an accident, or a mistake or a one off. Winning again is a real testament to the kids and their character. We’ve still got a young team.. If we can stay hungry we can accomplish a lot more,” said Bona.

AAAAA Teams 1) Hanna 593, 2) Chapin 603, 3) Dorman 608, 4) Mauldin 616, 5) Lexington 617 6) Nation Ford 624, 7) Conway 628, 8) Spartanburg 630, 9) Gaffney 631, 10) Boiling Springs 633.

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