Lady Jackets complete three-peat!
Calhoun shoots 509 to win third straight Class AAA State Championship
It’s hard to get to the top in sports and win a single championship, but it’s even harder to stay at the top and achieve multiple championships.
The Calhoun Lady Jackets golf team stared that in the face this season and took on the challenge, and they were rewarded on Tuesday by earning their third straight Class AAA State Championship.
The Lady Jackets completed the Class AAA State Tournament with a two-day score of 509 at the Okefenokee Country Club in Blackshear to complete the three-peat with a first-place finish by 13 strokes over second-place Union County.
Calhoun held a threestroke lead following the first round on Monday as they shot a 257 but then finished the tournament in emphatic fashion with a 252 to run away from the competition.
Calhoun coach Clay Stephenson said he is proud to coach such a great program and be a part of another state championship.
“Coach ( Roger) Gresham and I are extremely blessed to get to coach at Calhoun, and to get to coach the type of kids we have in our golf program,” said Stephenson. “State championships are extremely special. To win three in a row is a testament to how hard the girls have worked during their golf careers. The best part about winning state championships is watching the players and their families celebrating at the end. In true Calhoun form, the girls had a following of about 25-30 spectators of fans and friends (far more than any other team) that drove five and a half hours to watch them play. I think that gave us a big advantage, and it created a comfort level for the girls seeing so many familiar faces. Golf requires a lot of dedication, time and money from the players’ families so to see all that pay off in winning a championship is a great moment for me.
“This year’s team has worked hard all year. Golf is a sport that you pretty much get out what you put in, and the amount of practice time, and tournament experience that this year’s group had heading into the tournament had them as prepared as any team in the state. Winning this year makes all of that hard work worth it. The girls have been excited about playing in the first two-day state tournament in GHSA history since the new format was put in place. We have won many tournaments over the past few years so I knew we were capable of putting together one good round. I was a little concerned about how the girls would do heading into the second round with the pressure of either having the lead or being behind. We had a three-shot lead over Bremen and four teams were within 10 shots of the lead. We had plans to go practice for about 30 minutes in the evening after Round 1, but that 30 minutes turned into a two-hour practice. None of the play- ers wanted to leave and they kept working on things they had struggled with in Round 1. Getting that practice in gave them tremendous confidence heading into Round. I was very proud of the way they played in Round 2. I knew that if we could just improve by a few strokes that it would be tough for teams to catch us, but having to sleep on the lead with thoughts of either having a three-peat or losing the lead is a very difficult thing to do. I don’t think Coach Gresham and I slept at all that night, but the girls obviously did because they woke up focused and ready to play.”
Calhoun senior Kate Mashburn finished her high school career in impressive fashion, putting together two rounds of 77 to card a 154 and earn a tie for individual State runner-up.
Katie Kauffman was the next highest finisher for Calhoun with a 176 (86, 90) to tie for 14th. The Lady Jackets’ other senior Maddie Crump bounced back with a solid second round to shoot a 181 (96, 85) for a tie for 18th place, and Molly Mashburn carded a 185 (94, 91) to finish in a tie for 23rd.
All four girls contributed to the state championship tournament score as Mashburn’s first-round score and Crump’s second-round score were used to complete Calhoun’s team score for the separate rounds.
“I cannot say enough about these (our two seniors),” said Stephenson. “Their leadership has been tremendous for the last four years, and they will be hard to replace.