Memorable. That’s how many will remember the final week of classes at Pierce County High School, when three teams – including girls golf and baseball – competed for state championships. Ultimately, though, the boys golf team stood as the lone state champion in securing the 2017 class AAA crown. The PCHS boys, hosting the state tourney on their home course at Lakeview Golf Club, hoisted the cup on May 23 after two days of competition.
“Playing the 36-hole format was to our advantage,” Stuart Stipe, PCHS head coach, said. “When we won the 2009 title, we were not the best team. But it was an 18-hole shootout then, and that was to our advantage at that time. Over a 36-hole tournament, the best team is usually going to win the tournament. At Lakeview, we had a mindset that we couldn’t be beat.”
PCHS vindicated two consecutive state runner-up finishes in clinching its first state title at the AAA level after previously winning three titles in AA. The county also boasts a 1979 AA boys state title by Blackshear High School, which preceded the 1981 consolidation with Patterson High School.
Firing a team score of 290 (2-over-par cumulative) in the opening round, PCHS held a two-stroke lead over Greater Atlanta Christian after the first day. Ty Metts and Kole Kicklighter led the way with scores of 72. Taylor Sweat and Zac Thornton each fired 73. Jake Harvard and John Ben James each carded 76.
“With bad weather in the forecast, it was good to be leading after the first day,” Stipe said. “Carrying a two-shot lead into the second round was not very much. Tuesday we got very little rain, but we knew we were going to get the round in. But we probably lost that two-shot lead on the first hole because we didn’t play that hole as well on day two as day one.”
Sweat led the way for PCHS in Round Two with a 72, followed by Metts (75), Thornton (76), Harvard (77), James (78), and Kicklighter (84). Scores were higher all the way around on day two amid the wet conditions as PCHS finished with a team round of 300 (590 tournament total). Sweat was the low man for PCHS for the tournament with a two-day score of 145, followed by Metts at 147.
“Last year there were 16 teams there and four that could win it,” Stipe said. “This year it was us and Westminster coming back from last year’s field. But with so many good teams moving up this year from AA, we knew we were going to have to beat more than just Westminster. So, we planned backward and called it a process we had to complete before we got to the state tournament. We had a successful schedule winning three tournaments this year, and everything we did was with the state tourney in mind. We played bigger schools like Tift, Glynn, Colquitt, Ware, Camden, and Wayne. Then we won the area tournament by more than 50 strokes.”
The boys golf title is also the second state championship flag hoisted by PCHS during the 2016-17 school year. Coach Amy Nimmer and the PCHS competition cheer squad won their fourth state title this past fall. Stipe, who also coached the ‘09 state champs, joins former boys coach Bascomb Raulerson (1988, 1989) and former PCHS girls coach Maureen Brown (2000, 2005) as a multiple title winner on the links.
“It’s a totally different feeling this time,” Stipe said. “In ‘09 we had a neat group and played some really good golf. It was magical, special, memorable, all the things you’d expect it to be. And this time it was really nice because we proved it twice. We did it in 36 holes. We did it at home in front of our fans. Both titles are special in their own ways.”
Calling it a championship that will be shared by all 12 golfers on the team – not just the six who played in the title match – Stipe offered additional acknowledgements, including PCMS middle school coach Corey Lesseig, Lakeview course supervisor Karl Chancey, and the memberships and staffs of both Lakeview Golf Club and neighboring venue Okefenokee Country Club.
“We also have great parent support and live in a great golfing community,” Stipe said. “Plus, we have an administration at PCHS and a principal in Mrs. Dara Bennett that puts academics first and supports athletics. It’s a really neat feeling to know you’ve got their support in the classroom and on the golf course. Any time you set a goal and reach it, there is a sense of accomplishment, especially when there were times during the season I thought we were running away from the prize. That makes this championship that much more satisfying.”
Southeast/Bonus /June 2017
State Championship Summary
Pierce County High School
Blackshear, Georgia
Story by John DuPont
Photography by PCHS
PCHS Boys Achieve Golfing Greatness
