The Cassville boys golf team has yet to qualify a member to state since Isaac Dodson in 2018, a year after Wildcat Dylan Garner won the individual Class 3 title.

This year’s club at Cassville hopes to bring the Wildcats back to state-level competition.

Six athletes return for Cassville, including seniors Bryson Hendrix, Drew Dickinson and Lucas Hall; juniors Andrew Gray and Cole Watts; and sophomore Shaun Burke.

Jay Rogers, Cassville golf coach, said with a varsity lineup of five, competition among team members is at a high.

“There should be some pretty good competition amongst our six returners for playing time and what position they will compete in during tournaments,” Rogers said. “This group is active in many other clubs, groups, school functions and jobs, so they haven’t been able to devote as much time as some have in the past. Still, I hope to see a concentrated effort to do what they need to do to lower their scoring averages.”

Consistently lowering scores has been a strength of the team in the past. At the Cassville Invitational in April 2022, three of the five Wildcats competing lowered their scores, and as a team, Cassville was down 15 strokes from the last tournament.

The invitational in Cassville last year had a cold, bitter wind, also contributing to higher marks generally.

Newcomers are sophomore Bradley Stumpff and freshmen Corbin Rhoads and Will Brooks.

“They are all pretty new to the game, so our focus is on fundamentals and rules of golf,” Rogers said.

No matter where they fall in line, Rogers said the goal for each Wildcat is the same.

“It’s been a few years since we’ve had a member of the boys golf team qualify for the state tournament, so that is one of our main goals this year,” he said. “And, as always, we want to see improvement from all the players throughout the season.”

Cassville’s season began March 23 at Reeds Spring. The Wildcats play next on Thursday at home at the Cassville Invitational. Tee times begin at 9 a.m.