TIPTON – It was largely a stress-free title defense for Lakeside’s Jace Cunningham.

Cunningham avoided trouble throughout Monday’s Sand Greens tournament at Tipton Oaks Golf Course, cruising to his second straight championship. 

Cunningham made it through the round without a bogey, winning by eight strokes with a 4-under par 66. 

“Throughout the whole year, there was a little bit of pressure,” Cunningham said. “I tried to keep my cool throughout all the meets.

“I think I played the most solid out of any of the tournaments today.”

Lakeside swept the individual and team titles for the second straight year. The Knights placed four in the top 10 to capture their fourth straight team championship, finishing 35 strokes ahead of second-place Beloit-St. John’s. 

Cunningham, a junior, finished with four birdies on the round and maintained a comfortable cushion down the stretch. 

“I was slicing the driver a little bit, but I chipped really well today – that’s what saved me. Also, the iron game helped a lot, got me out of a lot of trouble,” Cunningham said.  “I just tried to play conservative and not go for too many greens, keep my lead up there and not have any big errors.”
 

The one time Cunningham briefly found himself in a precarious spot, he quickly worked out of it with an impressive par save on No. 8. 

“I hit driver, sliced it to the other fairway over the creek,” Cunningham said. “Then I had to get a wedge out and hit it back over the trees, close to the green and then I chipped on a par.”

“It’s a tough shot,” Lakeside coach Cory Beougher said. “You’ve got to know how to hit a wedge shot in order to do that. I had two kids do that today. Ian Kresin also had a similar shot.”

Beougher said Cunningham put everything together to close the season on top. 

“He’s been working for that kind of round all year,” Beougher said. “He’s been close and then he’ll have a couple of bad holes. Today, he didn’t have any bad holes. That shows you how well you can shoot when you don’t have a bad hole. It’s a birdie course if you hit the ball straight, and he hit it straight today.”

Rock Hills’ Ethan Wirth and Riley County’s Harvey Lister shared runner-up honors with 74s.

Lakeside’s second-best finisher was Gabe Smith, who carded a 7-over 77 to take sixth. Tatum Miller was ninth for the Knights with an 83 while Kresin, Lakeside’s only senior, took 10th with an 85. 

The Knights carded a 311 as a team. 
 

“They didn’t play as well as I know that they would’ve liked,” Beougher said of his team. “Sometimes the pressure of state and more fans and people following them around gets into their head. They’re still good golfers. 

“As a team, they did pretty well, but not as well as they want.”

Still, the Knights took pride in delivering the fourth straight title to Lakeside. 

“They like the game of golf, they like each other, they like to be around each other,” Beougher said. “They don’t just go out and play 18 holes; they’ll go out and play 36, play 54 in a day.

“They’re the kind of kids that you want to be around.”

 

Pike Valley’s Elijah Field (75) and Chase’s Josh Dexter (76) rounded out the top five. Logan’s Cameron Morgan and St. John’s Chris LaRoque were also top-10 medalists, tying for seventh at 80. 

Runner-up St. John's finished with a 346 while Riley County posted a 354 to take third place. 

Chase sophomore Laydn Hinderliter, who qualified for state despite his lengthy battle with cancer, was recognized before the start of the tournament. Hinderliter was unable to play the entire round, recovering after recently undergoing a round of treatment. But he was on hand at the course and had the opportunity to play a few holes, continuing his inspirational story.