ORLANDO-It’s not surprising when an area team wins a state title in golf, in fact its quite common, yet it’s almost unheard of when a local individual wins a state title.
The fall of 2016 brought us not only one individual state golf title but two in a week at the Mission Inn and Resort Club in Howey-in-the-Hills outside of Orlando.
Brandon Mancheno a senior from Mandarin, shot a 71 on the final day of the Class 3A tournament to win the state title by two strokes over Jackson Suber from Tampa Plant.
Not to be out done, a week later Cody Carroll, a junior from Middleburg, shot a 74 to win the Class 2A tournament after blowing a four shot lead earlier in the day. Carroll bounced back to defeat Ignacio Arcaya from Bishop Moore with a par on the first hole of sudden death.
Quite a turnaround for Carroll, who finished tied for sixth last year with Graydon Kent from Ponte Vedra finishing with a 152.
How rare are both accomplishments ?
Carroll became just the second person in Clay County to ever win an individual title joining Charles Waters of Clay, who won the title in 1974 at Ocala Municipal Course.
Mancheno became the first golfer since former Duval County Athletic Director John Fox, who won a title with Wolfson in 1968.
The pair became the 15th and 16th state champions from the First Coast, dating back to 1928.
