The Hartselle girls golf team finished second in the state championship in 2018, propelled in large part by the 6A individual state champion Mikayla Dubnik.

Dubnik, however, has transferred to North Hall High School in Gainesville, Ga.

Dubnik shot 142 in two rounds at the state championship on the Schoolmaster course at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at the Shoals. She was not the sole star of the team, though: Jinger Heath finished fifth individually and shot 78 in both rounds as a seventh-grader.

“Obviously, I knew coming back that Mikayla was one of the top four or five golfers in 6A,” Hartselle girls golf coach Chad Gladden said. “For us to do well, she would have to play well. If she and Jinger could keep it in the 70s, I knew we would have a chance to compete.”

Gladden said the team has come a long way in just two years after a three-year gap in which there was no team. Three out of four golfers had never played golf before that season, and that forced them to focus on competing, to get the golfers as much experience as possible.

“We didn’t get as much practice time as we needed,” Gladden said. “Going into this year, we’re probably going to back off on playing and work on the finer points of the game. If you can putt and chip, that puts you well above the competition, usually.”

Gladden said three out of four golfers who played in the state tournament are returning: Heath, Alyssa Berry and Lauren Temples. Berry and Temples are entering ninth grade.

Gladden said even with Dubnik leaving, he is still confident in the team.

“I don’t know if we’ll have two in the 70s, but I hope we have one in the 70s and two in the mid-80s,” Gladden said. “We’re still young. We’ll have one tenth-grader and two ninth-graders returning. Hopefully we’ll continue to develop.”