Many don’t know that Wakefield’s golf team is one of the most competitive in the region. Two of our golfers qualified for the coed regional tournament. It’s a little known fact that Peyton Johnson is the first female golfer from Wakefield to qualify for regionals. Ever. She and JP Defranco qualified for the regional tournament, and JP also qualified for the state tournament.

To qualify for the regional tournament, there are many stipulations. The top four teams in the district automatically go to regionals. Out of the four remaining teams, the 5 individuals with the lowest scores also qualify for the regional tournament. That is where Peyton and JP come in to the picture. Some people might still be scratching their heads from the previous sentences. Qualifying can be confusing for people unfamiliar with the game. The people with the lowest scores qualify. In golf, the lower the score the better. When people play golf, they aim to shoot under par; this is the amount of  tries it should take to get the golf ball in the hole.

Going into the regional tournament, these players had to change their mindsets from participating in a regular tournament. JP plays for the Wakefield basketball team as well, and is used to lots of fans in that sport. This sport is different, “Golf is a really individual sport, it requires individual motivation, while it’s really nice to have people there supporting you, you need to have the internal drive to succeed.” Peyton made school history as the first female golfer to qualify for regionals. When asked how she feels, she replied, “personally, it’s exciting that I finally did it.” With a smile that spanned her face, Peyton continued, “I’m excited to know that I made school history.” Both athletes are experienced golfers. With all of this experience, many think they have been competed since early childhood. This is not the case. Peyton explained, “I started golfing when I was 10, but I wasn’t really serious until the last year or two.” When asked to describe his time on the turf grass, JP said, “I started golfing when I was 13. I made it to regionals last year, so I expected to make it this year as well. It didn’t really come as a surprise to me.” Nonetheless, these players have accomplished an amazing feat by qualifying for regionals individually.

Very often, the golf team doesn’t get the recognition they deserve because Warrior Nation can’t attend the events with them. But these athletes are still a part of Wakefield’s fall sports, and deserve the school’s recognition and congratulations! If you see either of them in the hallway, be sure to congratulate them on qualifying and ask them how they did in the regional tournament. JP competes tomorrow and Tuesday in Richmond. Peyton competes later this month in Williamsburg.