Chasing history

Alexandria girls, White Plains boys take first-round lead in Calhoun County Golf Tournament; hair bettors Edwards, Ledbetter share boys lead, Sechrest leads girls

By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today

There are 18 holes still to play in the Calhoun County Golf Championship, but if the Alexandria girls can keep the tee box and close it out Saturday, it might just be one of the most historically significant wins in tournament history.

The Lady Cubs shot 255 as a team on a breezy Friday at Pine Hill Country Club and hold seven-shot lead going into the final round.

What makes it significant? The lead they hold is over White Plains, which has won the last five tournaments they’ve held.

More than that, none of the girls in the Lady Cubs’ starting four ever touched a club before November 1, 2018, as ninth graders. In fact, that was the day they all picked up a club for the first time.

Now they’re on the cusp of a major victory.

“I am so proud of our girls,” Lady Cubs senior and first-round leader Lauren Sechrest said. “We’ve only been playing golf for four years. We didn’t grow up playing golf and White Plains has been playing since they’ve been born. It’s amazing to see.”

These Lady Cubs finished second (last year) and third in the county tournament on their learning curve, but they were never really close, although the margins have been getting closer – 119 their first year together in 2019 and 43 last year. There was no tournament in 2020 because of COVID.

Never have they had a day in the county tournament like Friday. Sechrest, last year’s individual runner-up, led the way with 78, five better than White Plains defending champion Abby Gattis. Interestingly, Gattis held a five-shot lead over Sechrest last year after the first round before winning by 10 the next day.

The Lady Cubs also counted an 87 from Emma Ray and 90 from Emilee Brown. Reagan Finley is the fourth player in the group who picked up a club for the first time that fateful November day. She shot 92 and is capable of being a counter on the final day.

None of the four had shot a better round in the county tournament than they posted Friday.

“It’s pleasing because we thought we should have been a lot closer last year than we were, so I’m very pleased with the way they stayed composed; they didn’t get too up or too down all day,” Lady Cubs coach Craig Kiker said. “I think the girls were disappointed last year, so I think it’ll be really gratifying to them (if they win it), but it’s only day one. It’s essentially just halftime.”

Still, White Plains coach Chris Randall figures his girls are going to have to play “great” Saturday to catch the leaders. The Lady Wildcats counted Gattis’ 83, an 85 from Baylie Webb and a 94 from Isabel Rogers.

“We were just loose all day,” Randall said. “We had chances to make birdie and end up with a bogey. We just didn’t manage the golf course well.

“I feel fortunate to only be down seven. Middle of the round I told Matt (Rogers) it looked like we’d be down 14 or 15, but Baylie finished strong and got her round back together and so did Abby.”

The Lady Wildcats’ top two counters played their last four holes in a combined 3-over-par.

Kiker and Sechrest credit Calhoun County Sports Hall of Famer and team mentor Bernard Howard for all the success these Valley Cubs have enjoyed.

“Coach Howard always tells us to be patient; you all are going to come up,” Sechrest said. “He was so awesome. He would take us out everywhere and make us hit buckets of balls. He was like you all will come up and will be close with them.

“It’s just amazing to see us finally get to that point and see all of our hard work paying off. I’m just so proud of my team.”

In the boys’ race, White Plains’ lead isn’t quite as substantial as it was last year after the first round, but as long as the Wildcats keep it on the golf course Saturday they should win their third straight county title and sixth in the last seven years they’ve played the event.

White Plains shot 309 as a team and lead by 33 going into the final round. Oxford (342) and Alexandria (346) are second and third.

“I was really pleased with the way we played tee to green,” Randall said. “We didn’t make many putts, but we didn’t have penalty strokes (and) our ball-striking was solid.”

After first-round co-leader Sawyer Edwards’ 70, the Wildcats counted a 76 from eighth-grader Wyatt Cotney, a 78 from Dalton Faulkner and an 85 from Zach Goss.

“Wyatt really came through for us,” Randall said.

Calhoun County Tournament

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