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Sunday, June 1, 2008
The Final Hole
Fort Worth, TX
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Photo(s) By: Shawn Smajstrla
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5A Girls
Southlake Carroll golf coach Matt Glenn was hoping that last year’s experience at the state tournament – where his girls finished third – would pay dividends this year. The experience may have proved invaluable as the Lady Dragons overcame a two-shot deficit after the first round to win the team championship by six strokes.
“The girls, they had been there and had the experience of it and knew what to expect,” Glenn said. “Then they followed through with what they wanted to get accomplished.”
Carroll trailed A&M Consolidated after the first day, but Consolidated faltered in round two, opening the door for the Lady Dragons, who were more than happy to take advantage. Carroll improved by eleven strokes in the second round.
“Experience is a lot of winning down there,” Glenn added. “Unless you’ve been there and been through the entire state championship and know the ins and outs of it – especially the expectations of what numbers you have to produce there to win a state championship – unless you get that under your belt you really don’t know.”
Sarah Hurt and Kalie Presti – both seniors and co-captains – led the Lady Dragons with two-day totals of 156, good enough for ninth in the individual standings. Alexa Park fired a two-day 158, with Brynn Donovan shooting 164 and Taylor Slagle a 166. Presti, Hurt, and Donovan were all part of the unit that played at the state tournament a year ago.
“It was this year’s seniors time to step up,” Glenn said. “And they really did a great job.”
Timberview’s Victoria Vela finished fourth in the individual standings. She was 12th after the first round, having shot a 79, but rebounded to fire the low round (71) on day two of the tournament. Vela finished six shots behind tournament winner Casey Grice of A&M Consolidated.
5A Boys
The Southlake Carroll boys, once a mainstay at the state tournament, were absent from the competition in 2007. This year’s team set clear goals to have the Dragons back in Austin, and did so. The team finished eighth out of eight teams competing, but like the girls in 2007, it was a valuable experience for the young Dragons team.
“We were fifth in the seeding at regionals and finished second,” Glenn said. “And we played pretty tough at the state level.”
One of Carroll’s two seniors, Brandon Stuart, finished 11th in the individual standings with consecutive rounds of 2-over 74. Freshman Tyler Dunlap and junior Justin Wileman both fired two-day totals of 155. Luke Thacker was a shot back at 156, while senior Brandon Alexander finished his high school career with a 161.
“Overall the year was fantastic,” Glenn added. “The kids did above and beyond expectations, and so overall it was a great year.”
4A Girls
The Aledo girls golf team cut its first-round total by 23 strokes, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the play of Highland Park, and the Ladycats settled for third at the 4A girls state golf tournament.
Aledo opened the tournament by shooting a 342. Head coach Greg Nelson said it was the first time all season that all five of his golfers played poorly.
Katy Ward led the Ladycats with an 80 on the first day. Her second-round score of 75 for a two-day 155 would boost her to seventh place individually. All five Aledo golfers shaved strokes during their second rounds.
Katy Aldrich improved from an 88 to 81. Laura Buyers fired an 82 after a first-day 87. Sterling Smith cut six strokes off her first round of 87, shooting an 81 on the second day, and Bailey Bearden went from a 91 to an 88.
The team was fifth after the first day, but overcame Lake Travis and New Braunfels to earn the bronze.
Chelsea Mocio, representing Arlington Heights, finished sixth individually. She put an 80 on the board during the first day, but then improved with a 74 in the second round. Only a sophomore, it’s already Mocio’s second top-ten finish at state. Last year, as a freshman, she finished fourth.
4A Boys
Both Aledo and Arlington Heights had high hopes for the state tournament. Neither team was thrilled with its finish, but took time to put things in perspective.
Arlington Heights finished seventh overall, Aledo eighth.
Heights coach Rob Dixon admitted that he was hoping for a better finish, but praised his golfers for taking on a difficult course – that being Jimmy Clay in Austin.
The team shot a first-round 319 and followed that with a second-day 328. Steven Castillo paced the Jackets with a 159 made up of rounds of 80 and 79. Carter Babb opened with a 77 but shot an 83 on day two. Brax McCarthy fired an 80 followed by an 82. John Bell shot rounds of 82 and 84, while Austin Phillips shot consecutive rounds of 84.
Aledo, coming off a state championship last year, was a much different team from that of 2007. Only Trey Sullivan returned from that team, making it impressive that Aledo even qualified for state. The good news for the Bearcats is that next year’s team will look very similar to this season, as only Sullivan graduates.
Sullivan paced Aledo with rounds of 76 and 77, good enough for 16th place overall, tied with teammate Austin Struble, who fired rounds of 80 and 73. Jeffrey Merrell chipped in with rounds of 84 and 83; Chilton McKnight with 90 and 89; and Jeremy Caldwell with 88 and 94.
The team’s 650 was three strokes behind Arlington Heights.
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