VALDOSTA — Everyone knows that Valdosta produces some excellent football players, but one of Titletown’s best kept secrets is its junior golfers.

Several of those golfers teed off Monday in the Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) Junior Sectional tournament at Valdosta Country Club.

“I look at it and I see a lot of the kids shot the same score as some of those in the Valdosta Open,” sectional chair Dale Armstrong said. “It shows the talent level is high, really high. There’s a lot of good players here.”

Boys competed in four different age groups — 11-and-under, 12-13, 14-15 and 16-17. Girls competed in three different age groups — 11-and-under, 12-13 and 14-17.

Dona Kioseff, a rising senior at Lowndes High, won the girl’s 14-17 age group. She shot an 82.

“I wish I could have done better,” Kioseff said. “I missed a lot of putts.”

Kioseff is having a great summer of golf. Even though she said she wasn’t happy with her score on Monday, last week she shot a 74 at her home course Kinderlou Forest.

Kioseff is looking forward to a big year at Lowndes both in the classroom and on the golf course. Her GPA at Lowndes is 4.65, and she’s thinking about Mercer, Oglethorpe and maybe even Princeton as a destination for college.

“I want to play in college and for the rest of my life,” Kioseff said. “I’m talking to a lot of schools about scholarships.”

Finishing behind Kioseff was Jenna Kennedy who shot an 87, and Brooke Spinks who shot a 90.

In the boy’s 16-17 age group, Matt Johns from Irwin County shot 73 to take first place. He finished one stroke better than Valwood’s David Hobby and Lowndes’ Trey McQuaig.

“I played pretty good,” Johns said. “I missed a couple of three-foot putts, but I came out good.”

Hobby earned second place by scoring lower on the last six holes than McQuaig.

“I felt like I played a lot better (than 74),” Hobby said. “I missed a lot of short birdie putts. We’re all playing the same greens so there are no excuses. Matt played well and he deserved (to win).”

McQuaig, who will attend Darton College in the fall, settled for third.