Tonganoxie High girls golf advances to 2nd day of 4A state championships
Shawn Linenberger
Tonganoxie High girls golf team members ham it up Monday in Clay Center after placing third in a Class 4A regional and qualifying for state for the second time in three years. Golfers are holding up teammate Hayden York, who finished as runner-up in Clay Center.
A windy day in north central Kansas couldn’t keep Tonganoxie High from pushing forward to Day 2 of the Class 4A Girls Golf Championships.
THS finished fifth in the team standings after 18 holes Monday at Salina Municipal Golf Course.
The Top 6 teams in the 12-team state tournament advance to the second day.
“We made the cut,” THS coach Doug Sandburg said Monday night. “Not quite what I was hoping for. Fifteen back of third is a little far.”
Tonganoxie shot a 390 as a team after 18 holes.
Wamego leads the field with 358, with defending state champion Winfield in second with 369. Hayden is in third with 375 and Pratt in fourth at 388, just two strokes ahead of THS. Independence nabbed the final spot for Day 2 with a 392. Other state teams that didn’t finish high enough were Augusta (398), Buhler (401), Chanute (410), Andale (411), Fort Scott (419) and Clay Center (423).
THS junior Hayden York is tied for ninth, but just three strokes behind first place. Three golfers led the pack with 84, three were at 85, two at 86 and three, including York, at 87.
“I think Hayden played solid being 3 back of the individual lead,” Sandburg said Monday. “She’s got a shot tomorrow if she puts it together and does it.”
Emma Skelley had a career day, shooting a personal best 95 on the first day at Salina.
“She went out to the state tournament and decided to shoot a 95, so that’s pretty awesome for her,” Sandburg said, noting that it was her first meet in which she shot under 100 on 18 holes.
Senior Chilali Tanner shot a 101 and sophomore Santiana Garcia 107. Senior Keerstin McNeely and sophomore Abby Clarkson also competed, with McNeely shooting a 124 and Clarkson a 125.
“Lali’s been very solid for us all year,” Sandburg said of Tanner. “She’s usually mid to low 90s or low 100s. She played solid and consistent for us.”
THS is back on the course Tuesday morning and again will be dealing with strong winds as they try to move up the leaderboard.
“I think we played OK,” Sandburg said about Day 1. “I don’t think we did our personal best. I think we left a lot of strokes out there. We could have been 15-20 strokes better. If we’re 15-20 better, we’re right in the middle.”
That being said, Tonganoxie has a chance to keep building on what’s been a rising program in just its fifth year as a varsity sport. And the THS coach reminded his team of that during a team meeting Monday night.
“No matter what, we’ve had a great season,” Sandburg said told the golfers. “We’re just adding layers of icing on top of this cake you have done a great job making this year.
“Enjoy it and have fun, because that’s what this is all about.”
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- Tonganoxie High girls golf team members ham it up Monday in Clay Center after placing third in a Class 4A regional and qualifying for state for the second time in three years. Golfers are holding up teammate Hayden York, who finished as runner-up in Clay Center.