Graford boys golf team clinches first-ever trip to state meet
Apr. 28—The Graford boys golf team swung big and made history with a first-time achievement that rewrote their history books. After reaching regionals at the Mount Pleasant Country Club, the Rabbit golfers rallied on the second day to earn a third-place finish — just two strokes ahead of fourth-place Blum — to punch their tickets to Austin for the Class 1A state golf meet.
"It's been four years in the making and I cried when we found out," Graford golf coach Talley Dixon said. "I was really teary-eyed and it turned out to be a really good story because we didn't think they were going to make it. We thought Connor (Waters) was going to go as an individual but we found out he wasn't going to go. Then, Coach (Steven) Stegall got the results back and told us we got third place and were going to state. We just looked like a bunch of chickens with our heads cut off. It was a really good feeling."
As a team, Graford finished with a score of 781, edging out fourth-place Blum (783). Slidell (732) earned first place while Rochelle (755) took home second place in regionals.
When learning of Lemley's front-nine 65 on Day One, fellow golf coach Stegall said he told Dixon that their chances were done. However, the other golfers on the team came through with clutch performances on day two.
"We were sitting in sixth after the first day after not playing well and didn't really play great on the second day, but Cye (Lemley) really showed up for us on the second day — he wasn't himself on the first day," Stegall said. "I told Brad Lemley he was going to have to pick it up a little bit to make up for Jess, and Connor and Christian were both steady. The course is really difficult. I had several coaches tell me, 'We're playing terrible today,' and I told them we were struggling as well. Thankfully, they played a little worse than us, which made me realize sometimes you just have to suck less than the other team."
The boys' crucial performance came from a relaxed mindset, which allowed them to enjoy the competition rather than let any stress consume them.
"We obviously knew we were going to have to pick it up if we wanted to bring home any hardware," Brad Lemley said. "It wasn't like we were thinking all we had to do was win, but we were just out there playing like we would in Mineral Wells. The only difference was there weren't any golf carts for us to crash anywhere."
Graford's breakthrough on the golf course has been benefited by their success across the board athletically, with numerous student athletes competing in multiple sports for their school that requires golf practice to be done independently in many cases.
"These boys are talented and at small schools they do everything," Stegall said. Stegall said it has been enjoyable to see the athletes in a new light, as the basketball seasons have proven to be long and intense in recent years compared to the more relaxed atmosphere on the golf course.
Dixon's daughter Karsen, a senior golfer, narrowly missed reaching state as an individual after helping lead the girls golf team to the state meet in her three previous years. At regionals, she finished fourth place in the medalist category and was ninth place overall. Karsen said she's experienced a combination of fun and stressful moments with her mom as her coach, but she knows the profound impact her mother has had on boys and girls golfers alike at Graford.
"I don't think we would have this Graford golf program if it wasn't for her," Karsen Dixon said. "She got it started here, brought us girls all the way to state three years in a row and now she's bringing the guys to state. She's really helped all of us get to where we are."
While she has been an integral part of both golf teams' successes, Talley Dixon said she gives all the credit to the kids, who have made the engine go through their work ethic and camaraderie.
"It's not me that's doing anything, it's all these kids," Dixon said. "Coach Stegall and I are just here to guide them, but it's all about the girls and the boys and the work they've put in. We are just in the background helping them along the way, we just drive the bus. Well, I don't actually drive the bus, Coach Stegall has his CDL license, so he's the one that drives the actual bus."
Dixon said she's seen the golfers' scores continuously improve throughout the season and throughout their careers, which makes this feat that much more special.
"It's been very, very rewarding," Jess Lemley said. "I've played golf most of my life. I quit playing for a while but picked it back up my freshman year. I went through a drought my sophomore year, and we kind of choked in the district meet. We've really picked it up the last two years, though, and we finally got the momentum to go to state. I feel like we've grown so much as a team and what we're going to get from it is going to be amazing."
With this being the first trip to the highest level of high school golf competition in program history, the Rabbits will aim to prepare diligently and become acclimated with the course.
"We aren't expecting to win and we aren't familiar with the course, but we are really looking forward to the experience and will still give it our best," Christian Shea said. "We're going to go out, practice great and be sure that we are as prepared as possible for this meet."
In addition to that, the Rabbits are confident that they will look the part on the greens and fairways alike.
"We aren't expecting to win and we aren't familiar with the course, but we are really looking forward to the experience and will still give it our best," Christian Shea said. "We're going to go out, practice great and be sure that we are as prepared as possible for this meet."
Regardless of the result, Graford's golfers are eager to create new memories before the end of the school year and will cherish their latest opportunity to compete together.
"State golf is going to be a lot different than state basketball," Waters said. "With state basketball, our mindset the entire team we were there was to go win and it was our only focus. When we leave Sunday morning for Austin, we're just going to have fun one last time together. We have a few weeks until graduation and then we will all go our separate ways, so we're just going to have fun together — one last sport, one last time together."
Graford will compete in the state meet Monday and Tuesday at the Crystal Falls Golf Course in Leander. Graford will open with a 7:38 a.m. tee time on Hole 10 with Brad Lemley teeing off first for the Rabbits.
