West Point's Bailey Sutter

Cullman’s varsity boys golf team recorded a third-place finish at this year’s Class 6A state tournament, which wrapped up Tuesday at RTJ Hampton Cove.

The Bearcats finished with a two-day team total of 615. Mountain Brook (590) earned the top spot, St. Paul’s (603) claimed second, and Spanish Fort (633) secured fourth.

John Lunsford (75-71) finished third overall in 6A, while Will Drake (78-70) was fifth. Ben Shedd (79-76) and Ian Willoughby (87-79) contributed counting scores as well. Aaron Byrd (91-95) also competed for the Bearcats.

“I am incredibly proud of the boys,” Cullman coach Jonathan Hayes said. “We had to battle this year through some adversity, but they were resilient and played well down the stretch to put ourselves in position to compete for a state championship. We did not have a good first day and posted one of our highest scores of the year on a tough course. Not sure if it was nerves or (if we were) overly amped up, but they settled down and battled, and I was proud of the boys for how they finished the back nine on Monday.

“My message after that round was to just reaffirm them — that they have worked their butts off to be at this tournament and that they belong and in no way was it a fluke in any form or fashion. Nobody had to play out of their minds or shoot a number they’ve never shot before to be here. They each just played to their potential, and that’s all we need to do again.

“The boys sat down, went over their notes hole-by-hole, made a few adjustments and shot their best round of the year (on Tuesday). I couldn’t be more proud of them for their resilience and competitive spirit. It’s a great group of young men.”

West Point’s Bailey Sutter, meanwhile, finished third in Class 5A following a two-day total of 150 (79-71).

“I played much better today,” said Sutter, an eighth-grader. “I learned a lot for it being my first state championship. I’m looking forward to next year.”