Junior Cory Case went into the school year looking forward to the one weekend in May that counted the most. Case spent most of the golf season preparing for the State Championship at Legacy Hills Golf Club, in hopes of returning for the second year in a row.
For freshman Lilly Raymond, the journey to the State Championship looked different. Raymond joined the team in the fall and quickly became a crucial leader for the girls team. The work she put in during the preseason became essential to her success.
“I feel very proud of myself,” Raymond said. ”Just being able to show how good I am and how practice pays off.”
To get to the championship tournament, both athletes competed in the Region tournament at Margaritaville Golf Club. After successful golf meets throughout the year, both teams finished with high expectations of qualifying as a team.
Only the top three teams advance to State, however. The girls and boys both finished fifth.
“This is definitely one of our better years,” Case said. “We could have finished stronger, but I’m glad what happened to the team this year.”
On the boys side, Case finished 8th overall. The rest of the team included freshman Parker McGehee (12th), senior Cole Mayon (23rd), junior Seth Ferguson (45th) and senior Wyatt Rodriguez (70th).
Raymond led the girls with a 10th place finish, while her teammates included sophomore Jamie Ingalls (27th), sophomore Gracie Ingalls (39th), sophomore Padme Polomsky (59th) and senior Aubree Keenan (63rd).
Although both teams found success overall, the Region tournament provided some challenges.
For the boys team, challenges came with calls and judgements made throughout the tournament.
“I think there were some rulings, and it was unfortunate that none of them went in our direction,” coach Angela Chancellor said. “That’s golf, that’s just how it works. We needed to have a bigger lead than we had. But the lead we had just wasn’t big enough for us to overcome.”
After Day One, the team was tied for third with Barbers Hill High School. Barbers Hill and Austin Anderson High School moved ahead of the Panthers on the second day to move Kingwood Park to fifth. The Panthers fell just five strokes shy of third place.
On the other hand, the girls team faced windy conditions that forced the athletes to make necessary adjustments throughout the tournament.
Along with Case, Raymond’s goals include placing in the top 15. However, going into the State tournament Raymond said she wants to focus more on having fun while playing.
“[The coaches] have helped me learn how to have a better mindset while I’m playing,” Raymond said. “Just being happier and having more fun.”
Raymond, who is the first girl since 2019 to qualify for the State tournament, will compete at Legacy Hills Golf Club in Georgetown on April 28-29. Case will also compete at Legacy Hills Golf Club on May 5-6.
Case said he is especially excited for the tournament because of the connections he has made through high school golf.
“I’m looking forward to seeing some college coaches, the ones I’m talking to, and some friends,” Case said.
Although both the boys and girls teams were looking to compete as full squads at the State Championships, Chancellor said she is happy to send one athlete from each team to the tournament.
“Our ultimate goal was to go play as a team at the State Championship,” Chancellor said. “We just came up a little short. Five shots over two days is not very many.”
