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The Andalusia High School boys’ golf team is headed to the state tournament for the first time in 18 years after a runner-up finish in the AHSAA 5A Section 1 sub-state round on Monday.

The Bulldogs competed at the Rock Creek Golf Course in Fairhope and finished with a team score of 332, 14 strokes behind section winner Bayside Academy.

“We set a goal at the beginning of the season of making the state tournament,” AHS Head Coach Jake Kilcrease said. “The team has worked extremely hard to get here. It feels great to achieve that goal and means a lot to us. We could not do it without all of the support from the community.”

This year’s team is comprised of one senior, four juniors, and one eighth grader. Team members are Jacob Bowlan, Kaleb Covin, Brayden Harper, Bryce Jernigan, Pierce Majors, and Levi Wilburn.

Individual scores from the sub-state round were Wilburn at 78, Bowlan and Covin tied at 84, Harper at 86, and Majors at 87.

“It’s hard to find one person to identify as the leader on this team. They all work so well together and truly could all be considered a captain, including the eighth grader,” Kilcrease said.

Kilcrease is in his first year as a golf coach and first full year of coaching in general. He shared some highlights from the season leading up to this point including two wins.

“The guys have worked extremely hard day in and day out, and we practice every day. We won our home match at the Andalusia Country Club, which was very exciting. Now that we have reached this goal of getting to the state tournament, we just need to finish the job,” he said.

Kilcrease said the Bulldogs are now preparing for the state tournament on Monday, May 12, and Tuesday, May 13, at Oxmoor Valley in Birmingham.

“We will prepare like it’s any other tournament. We will discuss the golf course and try to be prepared for any challenge it may give us,” he said.

The format for the state tournament is 36 holes of stroke play consisting of two 18-hole rounds. The team score is the total scores of the low four or five golfers for each 18 holes completed. The team returning the low team score for the competition will be the team champion. The player returning the low individual score for the total competition will be the individual champion.

“It has been a blessing to coach these guys; they have been very easy to coach. They are fun to be around. I’m excited about the future of the program,” Kilcrease said.