Before the celebration began, El Dorado golf coach Chris Ezell was already looking forward to defending the Wildcats’ freshly won state championship.
El Dorado’s boys ended a 33-year state title drought and doubled down on the championship won by the Lady Wildcats a week earlier.
All total, Ezell had six golfers earn All-Conference (Aubrey Marx, Hope Walthall, Jon Brooks Elia, Preston Howard, Keaton Michael and Miller Wallace) and five named All-State (Marx, Walthall, Aaron Ezell, Michael and Wallace).
“We have all our scorers that counted toward the state championships returning next season for another run, but we will need to keep improving to keep the field behind us,” Ezell said.
The Lady Wildcats’ victory was a little bit of a surprise to many. But Ezell walked into the season knowing El Dorado would field one of the better boys’ teams in Class 5A.
“This year's team really started to gel together about a month ago,” he said. “Keaton Michael coming in as a ninth grader and Miller Wallace transferring in last winter along with Jon Brooks Elia making the decision to return to golf this year really bolstered the lineup.
“We only had one senior last year, too, so we added a lot of depth this year.”
Talent, depth and a healthy mix of youth and experience lifted the Wildcats. But Ezell cited team chemistry as an added element.
“There was a little period of time where they had to develop those relationships and get to know each other better and it really started becoming that team/family atmosphere at the midpoint of the season,” he said. “I want these kids to understand that while golf is ultimately an individual sport when it comes to a person's score, that there is a team aspect to high school golf that can be a memorable experience of their lifetime. They began challenging each other in practice and competing at practice more and it created a fun environment to be around.”
Both Wildcats and Lady Cats were balanced in terms of scoring. There wasn’t one player who shot low, under or around par. It took each player competing at a steady level to achieve team success.
“It makes them all accountable each round they play,” said Ezell, who was asked what’s next for El Dorado golf?
“Our next step is trying to defend our titles and this time of year is great for going to get private lessons, making any swing adjustments and working on our strength and conditioning.”