MOULTRIE – There’s Elizabeth Funderburk’s quest for a ‘Senior Year Slam’ of state championships. There’s a new face in the coaching ranks that’s nowhere near new to Colquitt County golf success. There’s the state finals for boys in 7A headed to Moultrie in May.

Those are the storylines of the high school golf season at Colquitt County High. There is one more, for this is the final season Donald Dale will be coaching the Packers, and while he primarily looks after Funderburk and the girls team, his former player Lee Wright has charge of the Colquitt boys. One of those is Peyton Clark, a senior already signed to play collegiately at Brewton-Parker.

Funderburk is back on the athletic scene after winning Class 7A’s girls cross country title. She’s splitting time as usual between the golf course and practicing distance running in track and field. Funderburk is defending 3,200-meter champion and will look to win both that and the 1,600 meters later in the spring.

How good are her chances, however, at low medalist in 7A golf? Well, the state tournament is at Spring Hill in Tifton. There, as a freshman in 2015, Funderburk placed third overall (73) on a Lady Packer team that finished second.

Her toughest competition may come from Tifton as Tift County’s Kaysie Harrelson is also a senior. She shot 76 back in 2015, and late last year she signed to play at Georgia Southern after graduation.

There’s one other Lady Packer senior, Kelly Blaylock. Lee Henson is the lone junior. The rest of the team is three sophomores and one freshman.

While the girls GHSA field will be decided in Tifton, Sunset Country Club in Moultrie is the site for the 7A boys title tournament. The Packer lineup is senior heavy with Clark, JW Griffin, Patrick Holman and Harrison Kebler. They are joined by sophomore Tanner Brown, junior Lance Blanchett and sophomore Caleb Yarborough.

“They have the ability to put up four good scores, at least five when we’re working all in one,” said Wright, a member of the last two winnings teams at the Pot ‘O’ Gold tournament. “They know what they can do.”

The Packers already have golf under their belt in 2018 at a Ryder Cup-format ‘North vs. South’ event at Spring Hill last weekend. Wright said they were in a tough draw, paired with Brookstone to face Brookwood and Marist. The North won easily by 13 points.

But Wright said it’s all about getting to state on the home course. He said Camden might be the team to beat in Region 1-7A, and both Tift County and Lowndes will be young. Wright said they will focus on improving each day, be it in the short game or off the tee.