Jun. 21—ATHENS — Adalyn Pike decided that one just wasn’t enough.
A year after winning a state golf championship as a freshman, the Athens sophomore set her eyes on adding to her trophy collection.
Mission accomplished.
Pike finished first in the Class 6A state golf championship, bringing home her second state title in as many years. And if two trophies wasn’t enough, she also added another player of the year honor as Pike has been named The Decatur Daily girls Golfer of the Year for the second consecutive season.
“Coming into this year, there wasn’t a lot of pressure because I had already won one and not many people get to do that,” Pike said. “But my goal from day one was to win another and to be able to go back-to-back, it’s exciting.”
Nobody was more excited than Pike’s proud mom Austin, who said seeing her daughter overcome the adversities she had faced was nothing more than a blessing.
“She had scoliosis and was in a back brace for a couple of years, 18 hours a day. She only came out of it for golf,” Austin Pike said. “She never complained though and she’s made a lot of sacrifices for this sport. She’s been playing competitively since she was six and to see how much she’s grown, with everything she’s been through, it’s truly amazing.”
Winning a second championship didn’t come easy, however. After the first day of the state golf tournament, Pike found herself down three strokes. If she wanted to go back-to-back, it would take a comeback.
“After that first day, I was pretty frustrated with myself,” Pike said. “After that I knew I just had to focus on my game and my goal was just to fight to stay in it. In the end I was able to come back.”
Pike said the experience of already winning a state title helped her navigate playing from behind as she went on to win by just a single stroke.
“It took a lot of pressure off. I wasn’t trying to win a state championship for the first time,” Pike said. “I was just out there playing golf.”
With two more years left, it’s obvious to wonder if there could be two more championships coming in the future. But having won two already, there will be new challenges that Pike must face.
An old coaching cliche is that complacency is the enemy of success and Pike said she’s well aware of what getting too caught up in her own success could do.
“I just keep telling myself that I can’t get ahead of myself,” Pike said. “I’m sure a lot of people say this, but I have to just take it one shot, one hole at a time. That’s all I can do and hopefully it will work out.”
Winning two more championships may not come easy, but it’s a goal that Pike will certainly be striving more.
“Winning two more, that would be the dream,” Pike said.
—
Best of the rest
—Leah Childress, Priceville
—Avery Proctor, Lawrence County
—Laney Gough, West Limestone
—Sophya Pirtle, Lindsay Lane
— caleb.suggs@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
Read the full article here
