The golf team began their season with news of senior Grace Huffman committing to Longwood University in Farmville, Va. In addition to the news, the team had two freshman additions, Garrett Huffman and John Shomo.

“I think this is really great for both Grace and the team. Grace is getting to go to school to do what she loves, and she is getting our team’s name out there! I am trying to help out the team as much as possible, and I am very proud of Grace and her commitment,” said Garrett Huffman.

Huffman has been playing golf her entire life. Her teammates and coach are both proud and supportive of her.

“It has been my dream to play D1 golf ever since I began the sport as a little girl, and I am very excited that my dream is coming true. Committing before senior year takes away a lot of the college stress, allowing me to focus more on my matches this season and help out my team. I am very thankful for such a supportive team and coach who have pushed me to want to play at the next level. I am greatly looking forward to my future years at Longwood,” said Huffman.

Huffman was chosen to play for the Pure Insurance Senior tour golf tournament at Pebble Beach, Calif., Sept. 22-24. She was one out of 82 others chosen for the tournament.

“Pebble Beach was so beautiful! It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I was very lucky to be chosen by the first tee. I’m very grateful I made the cut. I ended up in sixth, which was awesome” said Huffman.

Huffman is the first golfer to commit to play at a D1 school for golf since the mid 90s. In addition to that, she is the first female golfer to go D1 from RCHS.

“Grace’s commitment brings a whole new aspect of excitement to the team and we are very proud of her,” said Coach David Miller.

Sophomore Will McClung is very proud of his captains this season, and gives a lot of the credit to them.

“Grace is making a strong statement as co-captain this season. Trey Cathcart, Grace Huffman’s co-captain, is also performing extremely well. Both captains are striving hard to make this season a good one. As a whole we have been doing extremely well. I hope we can keep up this undefeated streak,” said McClung.

The team went on to place first at the regional tournament. They then advanced to the state championship where they got second place. Senior, Noah Gyseck, found the tournament a successful experience for the team.

“Overall the tournament was a great experience. Playing with other golfers at a high school level where we could all showcase our ability was all I could ask for. As for the second place finish itself, it hurts that we came up short but I know for me personally, there was a plethora of great shots resulting in it being a successful learning experience. At the end of the day, second place as a team is a pretty good way to end high school golf,” said Gyseck.