Rapids' quest ends with state golf championship

Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer James River High School's Nick Austin takes a swing on the course at the Independence Golf Club. Over the past two seasons, James River High School's golf team and its best player shared the frustration of nearly reaching their respective goals only to see them ripped away at the last instant. With a lineup they thought was deep and talented enough to compete with anybody in the state, the Rapids somehow failed to advance beyond the Dominion District tournament in both 2006 and 2007.

The disappointment was doubly difficult for James River standout Nick Austin, who followed up each of his first two Central Region individual championships with agonizingly close runner-up efforts at the Group AAA state tournament.

In the end, however, that pain only made James River's ultimate triumph that much sweeter. As they celebrated their first state team title last month with friends, family and more than 50 fellow students at Independence Golf Club, the Rapids recognized they had accomplished something they'll remember forever.

"It's meaningful because we all worked so hard to get there," said Michael McLean, son of James River coach Jim McLean and one of the team's three seniors.

Austin finished three strokes behind individual state champion Bronson Paolini of Frank Cox (Virginia Beach), but that mattered little after James River shot 303 in both rounds to win the team title by six strokes over Virginia Beach's Kellam High.

"Winning a state title is all I've been thinking about for the last four years. To be able to share it with some of my closest friends was unbelievable," said Austin, a three-time regional champion who already has committed to play for the University of Richmond next season. "It's one of the best experiences of my life."

While with a few exceptions golf is an individual sport, James River's success was a product of both talent and team chemistry. In addition to Austin, the Rapids boasted five other players - brothers Michael and Drew McLean, Sean Dougherty, Eamon Schwartz and Dawson Hobbs - who could shoot in the low-to-mid 70s on any given day.

In August, James River finished second to Atlee by two strokes at the Skyhawk Invitational even though Austin was in North Carolina playing in a junior tournament. Later in the season, freshman Hobbs shot a clutch 36 as the Rapids avenged an earlier loss to Midlothian by edging the Trojans by one stroke at Salisbury.

When everyone got hot at the same time, James River broke the school record by shooting 4-under 140 for nine holes during a Dominion District match against L.C. Bird and Monacan.

"We always knew if one person wasn't playing well, someone else would be there to pick him up," Schwartz said.

Of course, it's easier to trust someone who is a friend and not merely a teammate. The Rapids were a tight unit on and off the golf course this season, whether going out to eat or engaging in one of their spirited ping-pong tournaments at the McLeans' house.

"They just really like each other's company," Jim McLean said. "They can be mean to each other, but once it's over, they're buddies again."

"We all take ping-pong pretty seriously - almost as serious as golf," Michael McLean added. "When one of us loses, you probably wouldn't want to talk to us for a while."

That wasn't the case when James River finished as runner-up to Deep Run at the Central Region tournament. By placing in the top two, the Rapids did what they had set out to do all along: qualify as a team for the state tournament. Winning the regional tournament would've been merely icing on the cake.

"I don't want to say we knew we were going to win [the state title], but we all felt really confident," Schwartz said.

Especially when they found out the Group AAA tournament would be played at Independence, which until two years ago served as host for James River's home matches.

"It definitely helped us, knowing the course so well," Drew McLean said. "We knew where to place the ball to stay out of trouble."

It didn't hurt that the course is a five-minute drive from their school - a geographical advantage that James River Principal John Titus maximized by allowing students (with a signed permission slip) to leave school after lunch and cheer on the golf team during the afternoon.

The resulting home-course advantage was obvious, Dougherty said, every time a James River player made a good shot or drained a putt.

"It was amazing having [the students] there," he added. "You could tell what was going on with the other guys because of all the cheering."

After the trophy presentation, as vanquished opponents trudged toward the parking lot, the James River contingent stayed behind to soak up the moment and bask in the satisfaction of a job well done. One by one, players' moms pulled cameras out of their purses and clicked away. Eventually, Michael McLean and his father got together and posed for their final photo as members of the James River golf team.

This was no ordinary picture, though. It was primarily a diversionary tactic, intended to allow Austin and Schwartz to sneak up behind their unsuspecting coach and dump a celebratory cooler of ice water on his head.

But just as it had after the Rapids won the Dominion District tournament, when Dougherty wound up more wet than his coach, their execution of the final stage of the plan left something to be desired.

"They kind of threw it outward instead of on top of him and it ended up more on me," Michael McLean said with a laugh.

At least the Rapids' aim was true when it mattered most - on the golf course.

"I thought this had the potential to be a special group, but sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't," Jim McLean added. "I can't tell you how proud I am of them. These boys are all top-notch."