Rock Bridge boys golf has its eye on returning to the state tournament in 2023.
A storied program that's produced numerous DI golfers, the Bruins have not qualified for the state tournament since 2019.
"We won state when I was in eighth grade, so I didn't get a taste of that with any of those guys," senior Devin Reichard said. "I think we would have made a run at it my freshman year, but I think it would be cool to have my own piece in the Rock Bridge golf success."
"I think the difference between last year and this year is we don't really have any preconceptions of how the season is gonna be," senior Jack Bower said.
Reichard and Bower will lead the way for the Bruins in 2023, just like they did in 2022. But, the new sense of optimism from the Bruins this season stems from added depth on the 2023 squad.
Gaines Rooney is a junior this season and was in the Bruins' lineup most of last season. But Reichard, Bower and head coach Stuart Smith are raving about the strides he's made in the offseason.
"He rarely misses a fairway. He rarely mishits a shot that he just has this smooth swing and he's gotten stronger," Smith said. "He's one of the guys who's put the work in in the offseason and you could tell."
With Gaines, I'm just working on his mindset of like, you're a varsity golfer and you have the potential to help our team really achieve something special," Smith added. "And I need that from you."
Another name that has the Bruins feeling optimistic this season is Freshman JP Swindle.
"You can just tell (Swindle's) an athlete," Smith said. "He's got a golfing physique— tall, long, good leverage. And it was funny because I hadn't seen him play, but then the talk of tryouts was JP and his ball striking."
Swindle was the lone player at tryouts who made multiple birdies.
As exciting as it is for the Bruins to see added depth to their team, Reichard and Bower will still be the anchors in 2023.
Reichard — who's committed to play golf at Bradley after graduating — has also taken a step forward heading into his senior season.
"I think that's the difference for (Reichard) is that his high rounds now are upper 70s, and his low rounds are in the 60s. And that wasn't necessarily the case last year," Smith explained. "His high rounds were still mid-80s. So, just the work that he's put into his game and his swing, he's made that jump just on his own with the hours that he's put in."
As an individual, Reichard wants to return to the state tournament and make All-State, but he wants to see his teammates join him at the tournament in 2023.
"Last year, I was the only one that made it (to state)," he said. "So that was cool to go, but I think it would be a lot more enjoyable with if we could make it as a team."
While Reichard qualified for the state tournament, Bower missed it by a stroke.
"We had 35 mile an hour wind gusts for districts so it's hard to look back on a round like that and regret certain things," Bower said "... but I just kind of use it as motivation for the future, like this year."
Reichard, Bower and the rest of the Bruins begin their journey back to the state tournament Monday when they face Hickman, Helias and Missouri Military Academy in a quadrangular match at Lake of the Woods Golf Course.