JEFFERSON - Four area teams powered their way to top-five finishes at the Mountain Valley Conference golf tournament at Jefferson Landing in Ashe County last week.

Forbush placed three golfers in the top-10 to edge Wilkes Central by one team point (336-337) to capture the conference title.

East Wilkes earned the bronze, finishing with 342 points, while Starmount and Elkin rounded out the top five with 347 and 348 points, respectively.

McKinley Johnson from East Wilkes shot a 39 and 35 (74) to claim the individual championship, four strokes ahead of the second-place finisher.

Forbush’s Kirk Casstevens shot an 80 to finish fourth, with Wesley Brown (84) and Austin Phillips (85) finishing in eighth and tenth, respectively, to help lead the Falcons to the conference crown.

Troy Evans from Starmount was the lone Ram in the top 10, finishing with an 84 in a tie for eighth. East Wilkes’ Richard Wall shot an 81, good for a fifth-place tie.

Elkin’s duo of Josiah Blevins and Cory Anderson finished one stroke out of the top 10 with an 86, while Austin Holloway and Jacob Christian ended with scores of 88 and 89, respectively. Johnathan Stroud (95) and Noah Carter (98) rounded out the scoring for the Elks.

For the Rams, Brady Hunter followed up Evans’ eighth-place finish with a score of 87. John Boles and Nicholas Gunnell ended with 88 and 89, respectively. Austin Holcomb rounded out the scoring with a 95.

In addition to their three top-10 finishers, the Falcons had three other golfers compete. Derrick Houser and Damon Parrish shot 88’s each, while Hunter Kimbrell ended with a score of 96.

For the Cardinals, J. Adams (94), Johnathan Sale (97), Zack Faircloth (98) and Grant Tharpe (102) rounded out the scoring behind gold medalist Johnson.

The top-12 golfers earned all-conference recognition from the MVAC.

Johnson and Wall were honored from East Wilkes, with Casstevens and Brown representing the Falcons. Hunter and Gunnell earned honors for Starmount, while Blevins, Anderson and Holloway were named for the Buckin’ Elks.

Six area golfers were named honorable mentions. Stroud (Elkin), Christian (Elkin), Parrish (Forbush), Houser (Forbush), Evans (Starmount) and Holcomb (Starmount) made the honorable mention team.

Reach Matthew Gorry at 835-1513 or mgorry@heartlandpublications.com.