'EVERYTHING WENT RIGHT': Brown reflects on Lady Indians' historic State title

May 9—For the first time, the Sequoyah Lady Indians have been crowned State Champions after a blistering win at the Lincoln Park Golf Course.

Just a little over a week after the victory, SHS head coach Justin Brown still hadn't fully processed the historic achievement.

"It is pretty special. These kids worked their tails off and did what they're supposed to do," Brown said. "It was one of those times everything went right, and then to realize that we are the first team to do it [makes] some rich tradition. It hasn't fully sunk in."

During the final day of the District 3A Golf State Championship, the Sequoyah Lady Indians golf team was sitting in an interesting position.

After a strong first day, the Lady Indians were sitting with a 17-stroke lead over the next-closest team. Day one saw the Lady Indians play one of their best rounds of the season, posting a 330 to firmly go into day two in first place.

"I think it was very important [to take a lead]," Brown said. "It was a day conditions were perfect, and I expected a lot of scores to be lower. That was one of our lowest rounds of the season, and it came at the right time. It was nice to know we had a cushion on the last day."

After perfect conditions on day one, the tide quickly changed for the second day of the tournament. Day two brought aggressive winds reaching up to 40 mph. Overall, the Lady Indians had a worse time on the final day, with a 356. Despite this, the Lady Indians still built their lead to 21 strokes.

"It was brutal, 30 to 40 miles an hour wind. It was tough conditions all day," Brown said.

Despite some early missteps, the Lady Indians were in full stride the final day.

"At one point, we pulled away and we were up 30 shots. There weren't many holes left, so they were able to relax and enjoy it at the end," Brown said. "We had some strategy based on the groups we were with, rather than where we were. As coaches, we kept an eye on it. I was really proud of them for staying with it until the end."

Overall junior Beans Factor led the way for the Lady Indians' historic win finishing in second place. Amelia Bearpaw-Pritchett and Jaycee Gideon finished in the top 25 in 18th and 25th, respectively.

The Lady Indians are losing just one player to graduation this offseason. Gideon finished her career as the No. 3 scorer for the team.

"She is our only senior and we will miss her," Brown said. "You can't replace a kid like her because her character is so good. Hopefully we can get some other golfers in and fill that fifth spot."

With Gideon as the only player not returning, Brown is expecting a big summer from the Lady Indians. The team's Beans Factor, Bearpar and Macy McCray will return as seniors. Kodee Bearpaw-Pritchett is also expected to return for the 2025 season.

"I really like the four we have coming back, and winning it makes them hungry for a repeat. I expect our kids to play a lot this summer and come back with a lot of hungry athletes," Brown said.

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