Led by Chance Cathey’s 68, the Hornets turned in a 299 to tie Castroville Medina Valley for third, but fell one shot short in a team playoff to finish fourth as a team at the Class 3A UIL State Tournament on Friday.
Cathey, on the other hand, won his playoff with Reed Curtis of Medina Valley to claim the bronze individual medal.
“I’m very proud of the kids,” Dean said. “They could have just said, ‘We are in sixth place. We don’t need to try,’ but they all had a solid rounds. Our low round of the year was 299, so to match that at state is a good show of their character.”
Graham won the team title with a 597, followed by Robinson’s 600.
Individually, Robinson’s Chase Chapman brought home the gold with a two-day total of 141, followed by Jason Ficus of Longview Spring Hill, who shot a 143.
Cathey had a 76 after the first day, tied for 21st, but was nearly flawless early on Friday with a 5-under through the front nine. After bogeys on 10 and 11, he shot all pars the rest of the way for the two-day total of 144. He won the playoff on the second hole after hitting par while Curtis three putted for a bogey.
Also for Gatesville Aaron Massey, who lost a playoff to Reed last year for the championship, turned in a 153 as did freshman Jake Truss. Hunter Abbott carded a 154 and Preston Timmons rounded out the team with a 162.
“Before the day we talked about the competition ahead of us,” Dean said. “We knew we had to go out early, so we talked about the importance of playing solid early. We had some struggles on the front nine, but most of the boys were even or better on the back nine.”
The Hornets featured two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman this year, so they know that the future is bright.
“They are already talking about next year,” Dean said. “There will be new challenges, with a new district and a new region. But Medina Valley is moving up and Graham has two seniors, so we feel good about what we accomplished and what is ahead of us."
