A puzzled sportswriter approached Highland Park coach Jeff Loyd in May shortly after the UIL state tournament and inquired about his star golfer, senior Cody Gribble. Gribble had just successfully defended his Class 4A individual championship, but he didn't look like he was celebrating.

ERICH SCHLEGEL / Special to DMN

Cody Gribble capped his Highland Park career with his second straight class 4A championship.

More photos Photo store

Gribble took it hard when Highland Park, the defending state champion, finished a distant second to Richardson Pearce.

"He looked so defeated," Loyd said. "That summed up how important the state team title was to him."

The Texas-bound Gribble left no doubt about the outcome for individual title, posting scores of 66 and 69 to win by six strokes. It capped a storied high school career in which he also finished second as a freshman and third as sophomore at state.

"The team comes first," Gribble said. "I came away from there with an empty feeling in my stomach. It was definitely a goal of mine to win back-to-back, but it still hurts. In 10 years, all everyone is going to remember is how the Highland Park golf team did."

In his third year at Pearce, O'Quinn guided Pearce past defending state champion Highland Park with a two-round 582 to win the Class 4A title by 13 strokes. This happened after Pearce didn't make it out of district in his first two seasons there. O'Quinn said his team went eight deep, and that factored in the team's success.

"We had somebody step up each round, every day," O'Quinn said.

The final component was put in place for Fort Worth Arlington Heights junior Chelsea Mocio, and it resulted in a Class 4A individual title for her.

MAX FAULKNER / Special to DMN

Fort Worth Arlington Heights' Chelsea Mocio is driving farther this year, complementing her strong short game.

More photos Photo store

"I feel like my swing has developed over the last year," said Mocio, who became her school's first state champion since 1983 when Kim Dirks won the 5A championship. "It's given me more confidence."

Mocio said she's added an average of about 20 yards on her drives since last year, and that made a difference. Arlington Heights coach Rob Dixon agreed.

"She's driving the ball much farther and much straighter," Dixon said. "She already had a great short game. We noticed her increased confidence. That comes when you know where the ball is going to go."

Mocio finishing sixth as a sophomore and fourth as a freshman in her two previous trips to state. This year, she emerged from a three-way tie for first after a first round 70 and posted a 73 in the final round to win by four strokes.

"I didn't go in thinking I was going to win," Mocio said. "But my short game was really good those two days. It all kind of came together."

No stranger to state titles, Matt Glenn led a team to a state title for the sixth time as Southlake Carroll earned its second-straight Class 5A team championship. It was Glenn's third championship in six seasons at Carroll. He won three 4A crowns at Snyder, his previous stop.

"We didn't have that one girl who could shoot 70 for us and carry the load," Glenn said. "We had five girls who really fought very hard."