HUTCHINSON – As a gusty south breeze that persisted all day Friday continued to do its thing, Olathe West sophomore Myles Tarvin assessed what he and his teammates had just accomplished in the 30-team Hutchinson Invitational, and what it could mean in the coming weeks.
 
"If we can win this tournament, we can win state," Tarvin said.

 
Olathe West – and specifically Tarvin – has been building a strong case this spring. The Owls won the Great Plains Classic at Wamego Country Club and finished second in two other tournaments. Tarvin was either medalist or co-medalist in each of his first three tournaments, including the Wamego event, which was played in chilling wind and sleet.
 
Friday's breeze at Carey Park Golf Course brewed up one of the season's warmest days, and the Owls stayed hot, as well. With Tarvin shooting a school-record, 2-under-par 69 and Olathe West firing a program-best, four-man score of 297, the Owls topped a field that included three of Kansas' reigning team champions.
 
Tarvin claimed a one-shot victory over Hutchinson junior Ty Adkins as 154 golfers competed in the state's largest one-day tournament. The Owls, who also got top-25 individual finishes from sophomore Nick Nickloy, senior Bobby Oppenheim and freshman Bennett Warren, outpaced runner-up Kapaun Mt. Carmel – last year's Class 5A champion – by five strokes.
 
"It's big for us. It's really big," Olathe West coach Scott Aldrich said. "We knew we were going to have a special season. We had a good run of kids to be able to do it. You judge yourself on who you play, and we wanted to play in big tournaments with big teams."
 
The Hutchinson tournament traditionally brings in top teams from across the state, and this year was no exception. Five of the top six finishers at the 2021 Class 6A tournament, including champion Blue Valley, competed along with Kapaun and 2A champion Salina Sacred Heart.
 
Olathe West, assigned a regional that ultimately produced 6A's top three teams, sent Tarvin and his older brother, Jack, to state last season as individual qualifiers. Myles Tarvin shot an even-par 72 on the final day of the 6A tournament at Winfield's Quail Ridge to finish in a tie for 11^th place.
 
On Friday, Tarvin posted his first high school round in the 60s by making four birdies. He took advantage of the par-5 second and 12^th holes to get to 2 under before making back-to-back bogeys at the par-3 13^th and par-4 14^th. Tarvin steadied himself with birdies at the short par-4 15^th and 16^th and parred in to post the field's only sub-70 score.
 
"I've been hitting the ball good all year – a lot of fairways and greens," said Tarvin, whose season includes a hole-in-one in a tournament at Overland Park's Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate. "I'm still trying to work on my putting.
 
"We all played solid. The wind was crazy, but we just had to stick to our game."
 
Nickloy earned a share of 14^th place with his 4-over 75. Oppenheim was among five golfers tied for 18^th at 76 and Warren snagged one of the last individual medals as part of a group at 77.
 
"They're a group that's on the course all the time," Aldrich said. "There's times where we haven't had the greatest of weather this spring, so I would say, 'It's too cold, it's raining, whatever, we're not going to go.' They'd send me pictures of themselves out on the course. They're great."

 
Tarvin's one-shot victory denied Adkins his fourth individual medalist honor of the season in his hometown tournament. Adkins, who opened the spring with victories at the Salina Central and McPherson invitationals before adding a third victory at the Derby Invitational, made 15 pars, two birdies and a bogey.  
 
"I think it definitely could have been better," said Adkins, who earned a medal as the top junior class finisher. "I also think it's a really good score for the wind and I really fought hard for it.
 
"There's a lot of good players playing in this tournament, so I think it's really good for building up confidence. I'm really excited for the postseason."
 
Tarvin echoed Adkins' feelings, singling out Kapaun as one of the teams the Owls were excited to defeat. Even though Kapaun's postseason path will be in a different class, the Owls were aware of the Crusaders' prior performances, which included an even-par 284 team score in their victory at the Wichita Collegiate Spartan Classic at Wichita's Crestview Country Club.
 
"This is obviously huge," said Tarvin, whose team is scheduled to play the Free State Invitational on Monday at Lawrence Country Club. "It gives us confidence. We knew we could win this tournament and to beat Kapaun, which is obviously a great team, it gives us confidence going into regionals."
 
HUTCHINSON INVITATIONAL
At Carey Park GC, par 71
 
Team scores – Olathe West 297, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 302, SM East 305, BV Northwest 306, Washburn Rural 307, Blue Valley 310, Manhattan 312, Salina Sacred Heart 316, Bishop Carroll 320, McPherson 321, Eisenhower 324, Shawnee Heights 325, SM West 328, Wamego 332, Hutchinson 338, SM South 339, BV North 340, Derby 340, SM Northwest 342, Salina South 350, Maize 354, Hays 367, Arkansas City 368, Buhler 370, Wichita Heights 375, Newton 381, Wichita Northwest 389, Liberal 393, Junction City 397, Campus 433.
 
Top individuals – 1. Myles Tarvin, Olathe West, 69; 2. Ty Adkins, Hutchinson, 70; 3. Jaydon Carruthers, Derby 72; 4. (tie) Luke Leonetti, Washburn Rural; Conner Geist, Kapaun; Eoin McLaughlin, Blue Valley; Noah Pirtle, Kapaun; Rohan Desai, BV Northwest; Grant Gude, SM West 73; 10. (tie) Stu Jones, Maize; Ben Slicker, SM East; Giles Frederickson, Washburn Rural; Chance Rinkol, Blue Valley, 74; 14. (tie) Wylie Curtis, SM East; Alex Valdivia, Shawnee Heights; Nick Nickloy, Olathe West; Thomas Gogel, SM East, 75; 18. (tie) Jonathan Wefald, Manhattan; Miles Braxmeyer, Manhattan; Dominic Matteoni, BV Northwest; Bobby Oppenheim, Olathe West; Mikey Matteucci, Salina Sacred Heart, 76; 23. (tie) Tate Reid, Manhattan; Ryan Green, BV Northwest; Cale Shorter, Winfield; Bennett Warren, Olathe West; Gus Ruddle, McPherson; Noah Holtzman, Bishop Carroll, 77.