Notre Dame golf finishes fourth at Class 2 state

A grueling two days ended in celebration as the Notre Dame Bulldogs golf team took fourth-place at the Class 2 State Meet in Smithville on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs, led by sophomore Max LeGrand and senior Luke Gilmore, took fourth in a tie with Hermann High School with a team score of 695.

LeGrand finished 8th with a two-day score of 167, shooting an 82 on day one and an 85 on day two.

Gilmore finished in a tie for 12th with a two-day score of 170, shooting an 86 on day one and an 84 on day two.

“They worked really hard as a team,” Notre Dame coach Tim Coad said. “There was so much camaraderie there this season.”

The most special part of the two days for Coad was the final day, as he got to walk with Gilmore, who was the lone senior on the roster this season.

“This was the first year Luke had gone to state,” Coad said. “He’s been a big part of our team for the past four years. I like to walk with my seniors on the last day so I can support them.”

Coad said the most challenging part of the two-day tournament is remaining strong mentally.

“They’re out there on their own,” Coad said. “They have to figure it out on their own. There was a lot of wind today and rain as well this morning so they had to figure it out on their own and adjust.”

Following up LeGrand and Gilmore was Thurston Edwards posting a total score of 182, Parker Lemmons posting a total score of 185 and Trenton Schumacker posting a score of 189.

As mentioned previously, Gilmore is the only senior, bringing even more excitement to the fourth-place finish.

“They were excited,” Coad said. “Parker (Lemmons) was the one who put us over the edge today. This was his first year golfing for Notre Dame and he’s going to be a great golfer.”

Coad emphasized how much pride he has in his group for not only being good golfers, but good students.

“They’re focused on golf but they’re also considerate of their grades,” Coad said. “There were some times where they said they had to go do homework. They were just a well-rounded group.”