Photo courtesy of Rex Teter Photography.
Carroll Senior High School boys golf won its fourth state championship as a team on Tuesday evening, scoring 588, just 7 under Austin Westlake, who took second this year after winning it all in 2014. The team consisted of Colin Kober, Mason Greenberg, Ben Fernandez, Triston Fisher and George Gardner.
"It’s an awesome feeling," said 12th-year head coach Matt Glenn. "Itbrwas a great tournament for us."
Glenn admitted the last-minute change in venue was a challenge, but the Dragons overcame it. The tournament was originally scheduled to be played at the University of Texas Golf Club, but was moved to Legacy Hills Golf Course at Sun City Texas Golf Club. All teams had only a week's notice to prepare for a completely different course.
"It was a surprise and we spent almost eight monthsbrgetting ready for the UT Club, if we got a chance to play there," Glenn said. "We had a weekbrto play at this golf course and it was pretty difficult. The competition isbralways incredible when you get to the state tournament. There's almost 400brteams in the beginning of the year and when you get there, there's only 12brleft."
While any team can get hot during postseason action, the Dragons kept a level head with their eyes on the prize. The team led with a 288 after the first day and never looked back.
"I think this team that went down acceptedbrall those challenges and played with tenacity and courage and their heart andbrsoul," Glenn said. "You put all those combinations together and you've got a really goodbrsquad."
State champion Colin Kober.
State champion Colin Kober.
Photo courtesy of
Rex Teter Photography.
Kober, a junior, was crowned individual state champion, while teammate and fellow junior, Greenberg, placed second in the state. Kober scored a 2-under 142 and Greenberg had a 1-over 145.
The two will play an integral role in 2015-16 as 10 of 15 Dragon golfers from this year's team move on to the collegiate level, and Division I nonetheless.
"It’sbra good nucleus to work around especially when you know those two players arebrcoming back for you," Glenn said of next year's squad. "Both of those juniors are great leaders. The other kidsbrwill have a great summer, get ready, we’ll reload and see what happens."
Tryouts for the 2015-16 season are on May 13. Glenn praised the state champion team for its camaraderie.
"It was a prettybrunique group that was really family-oriented," he said. "The kids always had each other'sbrbacks. I think that uniqueness of the brotherhood - them always being togetherbrand pulling for each other regardless of if they were playing or not playing - was the glue for the entire squadbrand made them as successful as they were."