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White County's Catie Craig, left, Erin Dorsey, Eliza Jane Glover, and Rylee Adams won the Area 3 team title Monday in Dahlonega. (Photo/WCHS Athletics)
The White County Lady Warriors will be part of the Class AAA state golf field after winning the Area 3 championship Monday in at the Achasta Golf Club in Dahlonega.
The Lady Warriors, along with North Hall and Westminster took the top three spots in the tournament, and move on to the state tournament, which will be hosted by WCHS at Apple Mountain Golf Club near Clarkesville on May 17-18.
The Lady Warriors finished the day with a 240 team total, edging out North Hall, who finished at 242. Westminster claimed the final state spot with a 281 finish. Dawson County (319), Gilmer County (327), Greater Atlanta Christian (328), Cherokee Bluff (334) and Lumpkin County (345) rounded out the field, which consisted of teams from Region 7-AAA and 5-AAA.
“I am extremely proud of these girls,” WCHS head coach Darrell Dorsey said. “We didn't play very well on the front nine, but all four of the girls picked it up on the back nine. That was the difference and it allowed us to win the tournament, and beat a very, very good North Hall team.”
Catie Craig led the charge on the backside after finishing 3-over on the front nine.
Craig fared much better over the final nine holes, going 4-under par to finish at 1-under par 71 and claim the low-medalist honors. Westminster's Kyra Dube was the runner-up at 74, with North Hall's Mikayla Dubnik finishing third at 78.
“Catie played really well on the back nine,” Dorsey said. “She was 4-under on the back side and that was huge for us. This is the first time we've ever won an area tournament and we had the low-medalist. White County may have won a region championship at some point, but it's been a few years, so this was big for the program.”
While Craig posted her usual strong score at the top of the lineup, the Lady Warriors' depth were key to winning the title. In girl's golf, the top three scores count in the team score, so WCHS needed more than just Craig's work to secure the title.
Erin Dorsey got her game going on the back side as well, finishing with an 80 to finish fifth overall, while Adams posted an 89 to place ninth, and was a key part of the win. Eliza Jane Glover was the Lady Warriors' fourth player, finishing 13th with a 102.
“Erin played pretty well, she had a good back nine,” Dorsey said. “Rylee deserves a lot of praise; she hasn't played a lot of competitive golf. She was clutch the last five holes. On the last hole she made a par, and they (North Hall) made a double bogey. Rylee's play was a big part of us winning this tournament. For whatever reason, we just didn't play particularly well on the front side. There was no rhyme or reason to it, but we played extremely will on the back nine.”
The Lady Warriors will be one of the favorites to win the Class AAA state title when the 12-team tournament tees off May 17 in Clarkesville. Dorsey believes it could come down to another battle with North Hall for the top spot in Class AAA.
“We're going back to work today to get ready for the state tournament,” Dorsey said Wednesday morning. “I think it might will be another dog fight with North Hall. We're excited about getting a chance to play.”
In the boy's tournament on Monday, the Warriors had a tough day as they finished one stroke behind North Hall for third place and a spot in the state tournament.
Westminster ran away with the team title among nine teams, finishing with a 288 total, led by low-medalist William Love, who posted a round of 64. Dawson County was second at 327, followed by North Hall at 329, and WCHS at 330. GAC was fifth at 342.
“I think the best word to describe it is disheartening,” WCHS head coach Patrick Lowendick said. “It was definitely not the ending we were looking for or expected. We've played pretty well all year, so not to reach the full potential we had as a team is tough. We lost last year to Covid, and this year we seemed to be on the right track. But you have to show and perform, and we just didn't quite get it done.
The tournament was the final event for the team's five seniors – Jacob Adams, Jackson Rowland, Joe West, Tyler Anderson, and Jackson Earwood.
“These five seniors have put so much time and work into this, so I'm disappointed for them, but that's just the way things fall sometimes,” Lowendick said. “I told them not to let this define their high school careers. Not everything goes the way you plan.”
Adams had the top performance of the day for the Warriors, finishing seventh overall with a round of 77.
Adams' round earned him a spot in the Class AAA boy's state tournament May 17-18 at Catachee Golf Course in Hartwell, as he had the low round among players not on a qualifying team.
“The one positive is Jacob qualified for state, so I'm excited for him to be able to play one more time, “Lowendick said. “We've already talked about getting ready for it. He sent me a text and said, 'I'm going in with no doubt at all. I will avenge us.' That show's his mind is in the right place and he'll be ready to play.”
Jackson Earwood had a round of 82 to finish in a tie for 14th place, while Jackson Rowland finished 17th at 84.
Joe West shot 87 to finish in a tie for 21st place, Tyler Anderson was 24th at 88, and Aiden Black carded a 103.