The girls golf team made their second consecutive appearance to the state championship last week Oct.24-25 after they placed third overall at regionals. Senior Mary-Paige King, junior Paige Sidney and sophomore Sadie Mecham played a pivotal role in the team’s success and are three girls who advanced to states.
Similar to last year’s team, this year’s golf team has a lot of underclassmen. They have plenty to look forward to, with six girls potentially returning next season. The team will have one key loss with the departure of their captain King, but to balance that out they also had one newcomer this year, sophomore Emery Bowlin. With the team’s young age, there were no leadership issues as many of the girls stepped up.
“Leadership is not an issue. We have great players who are willing to help one another day in and day out, players play and the other players want to play as well as they can every time they tee it up,” head coach William Walwik said.
With this team having so many underclassmen, there have been a lot of teaching moments involved from the ones who have more experience than they do.
“Being one of the youngest girls on the team it has shaped me a lot because of all the things I’ve been taught from the older girls. They’ve given me great insight and advice all throughout the season,” sophomore Katherine Perdue said.
Of the three girls who advanced to states, Mecham is the youngest. She’s improved from last season, when she barely missed the chance to play in states after going to regionals.
“Being the youngest girl on the team to accomplish such a feat proved that I can make it to states and hopefully do the same thing next season,” Mecham said.
This year’s team is a little different than any team the girls have been on in the past, and in Walwik’s eyes, way different than any team he has ever coached.
“The girls bonded really well and always enjoyed each other’s company whether it was practice or during matches,” Walwik said.
The success of the team has largely been established by having a group of returning players, as the experience and chemistry helped contribute to the teams successful results.
“I think this year’s team is probably the best team the school has ever had. We only had one new player, so the team was already close, but this year, we got a lot closer and had a great team connection even though golf is an individual sport,” King said.
The young team hopes to transfer the great success of this season into next season, where they will try to make states for the third year in a row.