First-time champs: Gilbert girls golf program rises to top of Class 3A

The Gilbert High School girls golf team was building for a moment like Tuesday.

After starting its program in 2016, the Indians captured the school’s first state championship by winning the Class 3A crown at the Hackler Golf Course in Conway.

Gilbert shot a 626 for the two-day tournament and won by eight shots over top-ranked Chesnee.

“It just kind of blows my mind, to be honest with you,” Gilbert girls golf coach Dru Nix said. “We started a girls golf program because we had a few girls that wanted to try and golf and we just improved. The kids just bought into the process, worked and worked to get to this point.”

Nix coached boys golf and other sports at Silver Bluff before taking a position with the South Carolina High School League. After retiring in 2016, she invested in starting the girls program and Gilbert and it continued to build over the last few years.

The Indians finished third last year, 34 shots behind second-place Chesnee and more than 60 shots behind champion Oceanside Collegiate

Gilbert lost two players from last year’s team and Nix didn’t know what to expect from this year’s group. But the Indians have been steady for most of the season and were ranked in the top five regardless of classification during the season in the S.C. Golf Coaches rankings.

Then, Gilbert won the 3A Lower State championship last week.

Kennedy Gooding led the Indians with a 148 and finished fifth overall. Gooding was part of state championship teams at Lexington before transferring to Gilbert.

Edie Raine Hardee shot a career-low 157 and Alexis Hodge had a 158. Meredith Price shot a 163.

“Kennedy has been our anchor all year and performed beautifully. But it takes four players to win state,” Nix said. “You don’t win state at No. 1 or No. 2. You win at No. 3 and No. 4. And the improvement in my kids in one year’s time is amazing.

“The kids showed so much poise and confidence over these two days. It was amazing.”

Oceanside Collegiate’s Emma Schmipf was the medalist with a 133, the state record for 36 holes.

AC Flora’s McCoy wins 4A title

AC Flora golfer Gracie McCoy won the Class 4A individual championship Tuesday at the Barony Golf Club.

McCoy shot a shot a 72 and 74 over the two-day tournament.

AC Flora finished second overall with a score of 674. May River won the championship with a 674.

This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 7:25 PM.