Second year program in Empire gets first State bid
Apr. 29—Playing in only their second season of the program, the Empire Lady Bulldogs golf program will head to their first State Tournament after finishing fourth in the 2A Regional Tournament.
The Empire Lady Bulldogs golf team made it into the Regional by placing in Tishomingo before heading to Arrowhead Golf Course in Eufaula where they earned the fourth best finish to qualify for the State Tournament.
The team score for the Lady Bulldogs totaled 443 and the squad had six golfers compete in the Regional at Arrowhead.
Cali McMahan had the best score and shot a 99 on the round this past Tuesday.
Jillian Porter had a score of 105, Ashton Anderson shot 118 and the final score that counted on the team total came from Rae'kyn Rochell, who shot 121 in the one round of play.
Raylee Allen, three strokes behind Rochell, shot 124 on the day.
The Lady Bulldogs will now continue their season in the first State Tournament in school history at Empire High School for the sport of golf.
Despite the weather conditions, the Lady Bulldogs managed to post their second lowest score of the season and Coach Ryan Hightower felt excited about how the team managed the conditions.
"Weather was cold and rainy for most of the day. The girls persevered through the conditions and managed to spot their second lowest total of the season," Hightower said. "Coach Skiles and I couldn't be prouder of the team and how they played to earn their spot in the State Tournament."
With this as their first State Tournament, the Lady Bulldogs will travel to Falconhead Resort for the Class 2A State Tournament, which will host 12 teams and several individuals who qualified for the tournament.
Day one of the State Tournament will take place at 10:08 a.m. May 3 and will start at hole number one in Love County near Burneyville, Oklahoma.
Tee times for day two of the State Tournament will begin at 9 a.m. on May 4. The pairings will release after the completion of round one of play on the first day.
