Most high school freshmen have a tough enough time figuring out the new phase of life and education they’ve entered. Most adults have difficulty keeping focus on one task right in front of them.
Hunter Corman is definitely not an adult, but he’s not most high school freshmen either.
Corman, a freshman at Wildorado, has done more in a year than some do in four at the high school level. He’s a standout in the classroom, participates in basketball, won a rodeo competition last month and competes on the golf team.
He does that last thing pretty well too.
Corman led the Mustangs to a Region I-1A championship last month with a final score of 720. Moreover, Corman was the Region I-1A individual champion with a score of 160. Thanks to those efforts, Corman and the rest of the Mustangs will compete at the UIL state golf tournament Monday and Tuesday with the aim of taking home some more hardware.
Class 1A is scheduled to play at Plum Creek Golf Course in Kyle, Texas. Wildorado is slated to tee off at 9:10 am Monday from the No. 1 tea.
“It feels really good,” Corman said. “I’m super grateful and blessed with good parents and great teammates. I’m blessed to go play courses that I like. It’s super awesome.”
Head coach Kellan Kirkland and Corman himself wanted to make sure junior Ryan Cox (who finished eighth at regionals with a 179), sophomores Cash Flowers and Drew Ratliff, and fellow freshman Brayden Sides got the recognition they deserved for winning the region.
Still, even Kirkland had to say Corman has been remarkable.
“Hunter is a pretty special kid,” Kirkland said. “He works hard at everything that he does whether it’s rodeo, in the classroom, basketball, golf, he excels at all of it. For him to come in as a freshman and win the region is pretty special. He’s always out at the golf course practicing. Even when I was gone with the girls this last week practicing he was out there. He’s a special kid.”
Corman emphasized the importance of practicing how you play. He believes that if you don’t practice with a purpose, none of it matters. He also feels that he is only in the position that he is to succeed because of those around him.
“I really try to strive to work as hard as I can in everything,” Corman said. “My parents also help me out with that a lot. They really push me and make sure I’m not being lazy or anything. My teammates also make sure I’m always there and doing my best and not slacking or anything like that.”
They won’t have any trouble keeping things in line this week during the two-day tournament.
Kirkland said Plum Creek Golf Course is a much greater challenge than the courses Wildorado has played before. With that in mind, the squad has been scoping things out since Friday and are ready to go after a long layoff.
“They’ve had to wait a month,” Kirkland said. “They’ve had to practice a month without playing any tournaments, and I know they’re ready to go. They’ve been telling me all week they’re ready.”
Regardless of what happens this week, the Mustang golf team will have plenty of fuel to make the same type of run in the years to come.
“We have a super bright future ahead of us,” Corman said. “We have two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior so next year we’ll be even better. Years after that we’ll have people come up that will be good too, so we’ll be good.”
UIL STATE BOYS GOLF TOURNAMENT
When: Monday and Tuesday
Where: Class 6A, Legacy Hills Golf Club; Class 5A: White Wing Golf Club; Class 4A Legends Golf Course; Class 3A, Jimmy Clay Golf Course; Class 2A, Lions Municipal Golf Course; Class 1A, Plum Creek Golf Course
Panhandle representatives:
Class 4A: Randall, Owen Reynolds, Evan Reynolds, Jacob Montano, Jack Langford, Wyatt Provence; Pampa, Sawyer Burleson
Class 3A: Bushland, Haydon Branscrum
Class 2A: Vega, Lane Gibson, Cole Blasingame, Mason Neeley, Casen Brorman, Kylan Richardson
Class 1A: Springlake-Earth, Braden Bradley, Alex Alvarez, Tyler Tanaro, Slade Beerwinkle, Xavier Mosqueda; Wildorado, Drew Ratliff, Bradyen Sides, Cash Flowers, Ryan Cox, Hunter Corman
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Wildorado’s Hunter Corman poised to wrap up UIL state golf tournament with more hardware