Baylor senior Blakesly Warren chips on to the eighth green at Willowbrook Golf Club in Manchester on Tuesday. She and the Lady Red Raiders repeated their Division II-AA state championships.MANCHESTER, Tenn. -- Blakesly Warren walked around Willowbrook Golf Club watching everybody else play at the end of her freshman year at Baylor School.
Now a senior, Warren stood by the ninth green watching others come in Tuesday after she finished her round. She was the Division II-AA medalist for a second straight year.
Warren shot a 4-under-par 140 over two days to win the individual championship and lead the Lady Raiders to a second straight team title. Sophomore Katherine Holmes placed fourth at 8-over 152, helping the Lady Raiders to an 11-stroke win over Ensworth.
"Watching everybody as a freshman was motivating because I wanted to be playing," Warren said. "As a sophomore I was playing, but that was the year we lost, which was very sad. Then last year I had to come from behind, which was revenge.
"This year was fun winning."
Warren had consecutive rounds of 70 and beat second-place Ensworth senior Alexandra Farnsworth by six strokes.
"Blakesly was phenomenal for two days, and she's such a competitor," Baylor coach Gary Partrick said. "It's hard to believe that it's over. It seems like just yesterday I had her in sixth-grade wellness class."
Partrick remembers Warren entering class with a broken right arm and beating everybody in a basketball shooting competition -- left-handed. Warren played competitive basketball and soccer in her younger years, but she chose to continue in golf over the other sports, and she will take her official visit to Tennessee this weekend after giving a verbal commitment in April.
"She was such a good athlete that I never thought I would get her as a golfer," Partrick said. "But I'm sure glad she chose this."
St. Agnes placed third at 323. Girls Preparatory School was fourth with a team total of 360. Junior Emily Blake shot 173 and sophomore Mary Melissa Manuel shot a 187.
"I think they did OK for this being their first time here as a team," GPS coach Rob Riddle said. "Our goal was third or fourth, and they never quit. To me, they played well. They were disappointed, but they all wanted to go work on their game."
St. Andrew's-Sewanee senior Jenna Burris placed third in the Division II-A competition with a 14-over 158.
But for the second straight year, nobody played better than Warren.
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.