By: J. Daniel Pearson
When neither St. Cloud team finished in the top two in regionals this past Monday, advancement to the FHSAA State Golf Championships became a waiting game for both squads. That wait came to an end on Wednesday morning when both the Bulldog boys and girls golf teams were extended one of the eight at-large bids to participate in the FHSAA Class 3A Championship, slated for Nov. 19-20 at Mission Inn Golf Resort.
It was a historic day for the Lady Bulldogs, as they became the first team (boys or girls) in county history to advance to the state championship for four consecutive years. Behind Karolyna Adams’ two-day total (78-79-157) last year, the Bulldogs shot a 659 team score –finishing in fourth place overall. It was the highest overall state finish ever by a girls’ Osceola County team.
Regionals were set up so the first and second place team finishers in the four regions automatically qualify for the state tournament; while eight addition teams are extended “at-large” bids –regardless of region – based on state ranking points earned during both the regular and post-season.
Competing in a “stacked” Region 2, the Lady Bulldogs managed a tie for fourth at Royal St. Cloud Golf Club. But when the final rankings came out, St. Cloud was safely in the field as the second ranked “at-large” team in the state. It should be noted that the top four non-automatic qualifiers all came from St. Cloud’s Region 2.
The boys’ team had a strong season, but ran into a buzz saw in Region 2, where three schools shot collective team scores of under par – including Dwyer, who fired an astonishing eight-under 280 as a team at Stoneybrook West Golf Course in Orlando. St. Cloud finished fifth in the region with a team score of 307. Still, when rankings came out Wednesday, St. Cloud was among the state championship at-large selections with an sixth place ranking among non –automatic qualifiers – as Region 2 claimed four (five) of the eight available at-large spots.
“We are super proud of both teams, considering both teams are under first year head coaches,” St. Cloud Athletics Director Bryan Smart said. “These kids are extremely dedicated and work so hard at their games. The fact that half of the at-large field for both the boys and girls championships came from our region is a testament to how competitive and tough that region really was. I also would be remiss if I didn’t thank Bill Filson, Doug Holloway and the entire staff at Royal St. Cloud Golf Club. The success of our teams are due in a large part to the great facilities they provide our team to practice and play on.”
In addition to the girls’ team establishing a county record for four straight trips to the state championship, it will be the second time that St. Cloud is sending both teams to the finals – having also done so in 2022.
Heading to championship for the St. Cloud girls are Adams, Maddie Burda, Abigail Murphy, Olivia Siegel and Nadia Burda; while the St. Cloud boys’ team is Espn Pool, Ethan Parish, Dominick Velazquez, and Wyatt Wheeler. The FSAA State Championship is a two-round event, with the girls playing from 5600 yards on the Las Colinas course and the boys competing on the 6700-yards El Campeon course.
