The girls golf team won its first state championship at the  UIL 6A state tournament May 10-11 at Legacy Hills Golf Club in Georgetown.

Junior Symran Shah shot a team-low 146 in the two-day tournament. Junior  Morgan Horrell, a Howard University golf commit, shot 151, and the team won by seven strokes.

“We had a lot of preparation going into the tournament,” Horrell said. “We were there Saturday and Sunday and the tournament started Monday, so that was two nights of thinking about what’s going to happen that first day. I don’t think the team was necessarily nervous, we all just felt hopeful and we didn’t know how the day would end.”

Players were faced with rain and strong winds during the tournament. The team managed to score 299 each day for a two-day score of 598.

“I feel like for the second day we definitely beat the weather,” junior Estelle Seon said. “Other teams tried their best, but we really held through the last hole.”

At the end of the first day, the team was in second place. Horrell said at that point, winning the tournament seemed tangible and helped motivate the girls to continue.

“Second day going in we all felt excited, we were just ready to take it and actually compete,” Horrell said. “Everyone’s competitive level rose a lot. I think that was the major difference, we were just really excited.”

Five of the girls attended the state tournament. The four juniors and one senior enjoyed heading down to Georgetown early, as it allowed them more time to spend together bonding.

“Our team gets along so well, we’re all just a big group of best friends,” Horrell said. “We went out to really nice dinners, that was such a treat, and we had game night each night in the hotel room, and that was so fun because we’re all so competitive. It was just a great time with my friends.”

Eleven other teams competed at state. Austin Vandergrift followed Hebron, placing second as a team and Austin Westlake placed third.

“The award ceremony [was my favorite part of the state tournament] there were so many people, it was way more than we saw at district and regionals,” Seon said. “It was a whole new feeling, watching the other teams cheer us on when we won our award [was] a really memorable moment.”