WHEELING- It’s been since 2019 since the Cavaliers have sent anyone to the state tournament.
Kamden Sams, a senior golfer representing Greenbrier West High School, qualified this year for the state tournament in Class A as an individual competitor who did not advance with a team.
Sams, a multi-sport athlete, had a rough start this season due to an injury early on but didn’t let that stop him to make the best of this season. He went to the ortho on Sept. 8 at 1:30 and they cleared him to play golf and was at the golf match and played his first tournament at 4:30.
Starting late in the season, he was just able to get his six matches in to qualify for the regional tournament.
In that regional tournament, he captured the regional individual title by shooting an 85. That performance secured his place at the state tournament. The 2025 WVSSAC state golf championship was held at Oglebay Resort Speidel Golf Club – Jones Course in Wheeling, West Virginia. The event was a 36-hole competition over two days, with a practice round the day before.
Round 1: Sams shot +24 over par (score of +24).
Round 2: Combined with his first round, his overall total was 205 strokes, which corresponds to +63 over par for the 36 holes. That result placed him tied for 22nd individual in Class A among all competitors.
Kamden’s journey is a good story of perseverance: winning regionals with an 85, advancing to state as an individual, then competing among the top high school golfers in the state.
While he didn’t finish near the top at state, finishing in the middle of the pack among state qualifiers is respectable, especially given the difficulty of the championship setup. As a senior, this likely was one of his final high-school tournaments, giving him something to build on or to look back on with pride.
Story by: Brittany Mandeville
