The Bearden boys golf team finished their season as runners up at the 2024 state championship.
The team has had four state appearances besides this year in 1969, 1970, 1983, and 2023.
The team set out to get back to state, but never imagined the best finish in school history.
“Our goals at the beginning of the year were to get back to state,” Coach Billie Davis said. “We exceeded my expectations.”
Added senior Bryce Harmon: “It’s something that we definitely weren’t thinking about at the beginning of the season. It’s really cool to think about how far we’ve come.”
Harmon and freshman Dane Helzer both placed 10th in the state. Both played a large role in the success of the team as a whole.
Coach Davis said that state was the moment that Helzer shook off all his nerves and performed the best of his season.
“Day one of state, he was leading the whole tournament for the front nine,” Coach Davis said. “I had people coming up to me and asking, ‘Who is this freshman?’”
The team had leadership from three seniors who went to state: Harmon, Aiden Ella, and Chris Faircloth. They all played a vital role in lessening the nerves of the younger boys and keeping a positive attitude.
“They definitely helped the younger guys not stress as much,” Harmon said.
Ella helped to keep the team motivated and lead those on the team to success.
“He showed people not to give up,” Coach Davis said. “He became a leader for my kids.”
Faircloth was new to the team, but blended right in. He helped the others to just play their game and not worry about anything else.
“He became our team jokester in a sense,” Coach Davis said.
Helzer attributes the team’s success to the positive atmosphere of the team.
“The atmosphere of our team is very positive and outgoing,” Helzer said. “We are always respectful and competitive, which led us to our performance in state.”
The team will use this success as motivation for seasons to come.
“This sets an expectation for the future seasons to fix things that needed to be fixed this year and ultimately win state,” Helzer said.
Added Harmon: “It will give them goals in future seasons.”