Bottom Line: Augusta Prep trio successful

The 2004 Augusta Prep golf team featured an extremely talented trio of sophomores.

Jefferson Knox, Clayton Boardman and Rob Bennett led the Cavaliers to the state crown as ninth graders and their future is obviously bright.

Back in 2000 Augusta Prep won a State Title led by a pretty talented group of underclassmen as well.

That season Paul Trotter, Kenan Yount and Sam Nicholson led the way as the Cavaliers won the GISA AAA Title. The group also led Augusta Prep to four straight Region Championships and were the State Runners-up during their senior season in 2002.

In the spring, all three signed scholarships to play on the college level.

Nicholson inked with Virginia Tech, Trotter signed with Furman and Yount agreed to attend Dartmouth.

Two years later, I decided to take a look at one of the most successful trios in county history.

Sam Nicholson (Virginia Tech)

Nicholson had a tremendous season for the Hokies.

The talented sophomore scored in seven of the team's nine tournaments. In 20 rounds for Virginia. Tech, he had a 76.85 scoring average. His low round for the season was a 73. With two of the Hokies' top players graduating, Nicholson will play a key role in Blacksburg next season. Virginia Tech's move to the Atlantic Coast Conference will give him an opportunity to play much closer to home.

Kenan Yount (Dartmouth)

While he is quite a golfer, obviously Yount is also an exceptional student.

This Ivy Leaguer began the season nicely. At the Yale Spring Open, he finished tied for 14th with rounds of 74-75 on a very difficult layout. In one of the biggest tournaments of the year, Yount used a final round 73 to finish a team best 11th at the Ivy League Championship. He also had a 10th place finish at the Rhode Island Invitational.

Although Dartmouth struggled as a team, Yount appears to be headed for some big things before his career is over.

Paul Trotter (Furman)

Trotter redshirted as a freshman in 2003 on a very talented Paladin golf team.

Trotter scored in only one tournament this season and posted an 80.7 scoring average with a low round of 78. While Furman is loaded with a lot of young talent, they do lose three seniors including their top player Matt Davidson.

Davidson, an All Conference performer, posted the teams low score in nine of 13 tournaments during the 2003-04 season. Thanks to the redshirt season Trotter still has three years left to leave his mark on the Furman program.

All three of these talented young players helped to set the bar very high for the current group of young superstars in the Augusta Prep golf team. Don't be surprised if they play a major role in raising the bar at their respective colleges as well.