First all-Black golf team to win Georgia state championship eager to repeat

ATLANTA — It’s been two years since the Drew Charter School golf team made history as the first all-Black golf team and first Atlanta Public School to win a golf state championship in Georgia.

Now, the Eagles are ready to add another chapter to the books in their quest to repeat.

Channel 2 sports anchor Alison Mastrangelo caught up with the golfers and head coach Joe Weems at the Charlie Yates Golf Course as they gear up for their upcoming season.

There has been a lot of changes since the Drew Charter team won their first state championship in 2019, most notably how to adapt to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been really different coming into the season, wearing masks, six feet protocols,” junior Miles Richardson said. “It’s been different new things and school is different and all of that is having an affect on us.”

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The pandemic shut down their season last year. That meant the Eagles had to wait another year to defend their title.

“These kids are resilient. They are very committed to the program, so even during the pandemic, they kept playing,” Weems told Mastrangelo.

“We were staying safe, but at the same time, we were trying to make sure we didn’t lose any of our edge,” senior Jalon Cook said.

Drew Charter only has two returning golfers from the 2019 championship team. They are making sure to pass along their experience and knowledge to their teammates.

“Teams know us now. Teams have been recruiting to try to play us, so it’s even more important we stay on top of our game and play even harder,” Cook said.

How are the players feeling about any added pressure to repeat?

“Pressure makes diamonds,” Weems said. “We feel like we are trying to make a diamond here. We put them against real tough competition, against each other, so when you step out there and you represent us, you are looking at the best.”

The Eagles participated in their first tournament of the season on Thursday.

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