Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Brookland leaves no doubt in repeat
JONESBORO — There would be no razor-thin victory this time around for Brookland.
The Lady Bearcats had two players shoot 79 or better, led by junior Emma Butler’s 4-over 76, as Brookland pulled away to capture its second consecutive Class 4A girls state golf championship Tuesday at the Sage Meadows Country Club.
“This is exactly what these girls have been working toward all year,” said an emotional Brookland
Coach Randy
Oxford, whose team held off Nashville by one stroke to win the title last year but won this season’s event by 16 shots. “They just played so great [Tuesday]. They went out there, battled and stayed focused. It’s just amazing.
“This is truly a testament and credit to how hard they work.”
Windy and cool conditions forced players to put in even more effort at the 6,900-yard course.
Only two competitors, Nashville junior Ellen Spigner and Pulaski Academy freshman Anna Kate Nichols, shot below par on the day. But Brookland’s quartet of juniors all had solid outings at a facility that’s just 5 miles from their school.
Isabel Viala finished with a career-best 79 while Vivian McMechen fired an 83 for the Lady Bearcats, who finished with a team score of 238. Breah Bowman chipped in with an 88 for Brookland.
“Those girls put their hearts and souls into it,” Oxford said. “They’re out here in the summer, out here in the heat. They travel all over South playing golf all summer, and all that hard work paid off.”
Spigner’s 5-under 67 was good enough to win medalist honors as the Lady Scrappers finished second with a score of 254. Harrison grabbed third place for the third consecutive year with a 263. Pulaski Academy, spearheaded by a 2-under 70 from Nichols, landed fourth with a 273.
“I have to admit, it was pretty tough out there, especially with that wind,” Spigner said. “Like the wind, toward the back nine on the last couple of holes, picked up a lot, and it would just stall my ball at the top. But I was OK with it.
“I just wanted to come out, shoot what I could shoot and show people what I’m capable of. I think, as a whole, my team did well, just came up a little short.”
It was a clutch performance from one of Brookland’s regulars that helped deny Nashville its first championship since 2018.
“Talk about Isabel coming through huge,” Oxford said. “She’d never shot that low before, but to have a career best on a day like this one … it’s just incredible. That just goes back to the hard work aspect of it because it was absolutely a brutal day with the conditions.
“The green speeds were up, and I think that may have been tough on some of the other teams, particularly if they’re not use to greens running that fast. But we play out here, and my girls are a little bit use to that. You’ve still got to make those two-footers, though, and they just made them all day.”
Butler made her share of putts to aid the Lady Bearcats’ run. Her finish nearly earned her a spot in the upcoming Overall tournament, but she lost a fourhole playoff to Magnolia senior Meghan Lindsey.
“I really think I just pushed through it all,” said Butler, who along with Viala earned allstate honors. “Coming in, I didn’t want us to get in the mindset that we had [title] in the bag. I knew if we did that, then we probably wouldn’t have won it. So I wanted to come out and play the best that I could, and hope everyone else did the same.
“Luckily, they did, and now we’ve got another state title.”