GARDEN CITY — For the second straight season, Olathe West boys golf team entered the second day of the state tournament trailing the top team score by just one stroke.

And for the second straight year, the Owls closed the gap with the top team by the end of Day 2.

Unlike last year though, the Owls made sure that they left the state tournament with the victory.

Olathe West shot a 305 on Day 2 to finish with a two-day total of 583 and win the Class 6A state tournament May 21 at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in Garden City. The Owls finished two strokes ahead of state runner-up Olathe Northwest, which entered the day with a lead following a 278 score on Day 1. Shawnee Mission East, the 2023 state champions, finished third with a 591 thanks to a 301 as the best Day 2 score.

Olathe West head coach Scott Aldrich said words can’t really describe the amazing feeling of winning the state championship.

“These guys have been working so hard and been so close for so long,” Aldrich said. “Last year, the heartbreak of it all just fueled them to go out and they dominated all season long. Then they still had to grind today to get it done and they did it. I can’t be more proud of the guys.”

Last year, Olathe West tied with Shawnee Mission East for the top spot, only for the Lancers to win the state title with an advantage via each team’s score from its fifth golfer.

“Losing in a tiebreaker that way, you realize how every score matters,” Aldrich said. “It's not just the top four guys. It's one through six, all matter. Nobody wanted to be that score that lost it for us.”
 

Aldrich said each one of his golfers clearly showed that determination to prove themselves, which he said bore out in the scores throughout the season.

“All season long, a different four guys were the top of the team at any moment,” Aldrich said. “They were all battling each other and that pushed them to get to where we are.”

The Owls even showed that with their scores at state.

After senior Myles Tarvin and junior Bennett Warren delivered the top scores for the Owls on Day 1, it ended up being Parker Boggins who finished with the best performance on the second day.

Boggins started Day 2 by hitting par on the first three. He followed up with a couple bogeys, but a birdie on hole seven helped mitigate those results. Boggins stayed at par over the next four holes before hitting a bogey on 11 and birdie on 12. Except for two more bogeys on 14 and 17, he hit par the rest of the way to finish with 74, giving him the best score for the Owls on Day 2.

Blaine Sullivan rounded out the top four Day 2 scores for his team by matching Warren’s 78. Sullivan had four bogeys over his first six holes, but followed up with two straight birdies. On the back nine, Sullivan hit three bogeys and a double bogey with just one birdie.

Aldrich said the windy conditions on Day 2 definitely forced his golfers to adjust, but he felt like they were also very confident that they could hold it together.

“If they're struggling, they know that somebody else is probably playing well and so they don't need to get too down,” Aldrich said. “No need to stress and feel like they had to be the guy.”
 

Tarvin and Warren, a duo which often led the way for the Owls this season, finished Day 1 sitting just one stroke back from the lead after shooting 68s. But Tarvin had a rough start to Day 2. He hit four bogeys and one double bogey on his front nine, only offset by a pair of birdies on 4 and 7.

Tarvin finished with three birdies to just two bogeys on the back nine, giving him a 75 to take fifth place.

Tarvin said the key on windy days is to focus on little runs to help even out the scores from when things end up going wrong.

“I knew that today I'm gonna hit it in the crap, it's gonna happen,” Tarvin said.

Warren had the better start on Day 2, hitting just two bogeys alongside five pars. But on the eighth hole, things got tricky for Warren as he finished quadruple bogey. Warren settled himself down midway through the back nine, only to find out that the team’s state title chances would come down to how he finished.

“I birdied 16 and I knew that it was going to be really close,” Warren said. “My coach was trying to figure out where we were at. I was walking with him and on 18, we figured out that I just needed to tie the hole and we won.”

Aldrich said he wanted to avoid putting too much pressure on his golfers in those spots, but both of his top golfers said they preferred to know exactly where they stood.

“I like to know where I'm at just because it sort of changes some things, like if I wanna lag a putt up to the hole or go for it,” Warren said. “I'm definitely a person that likes to know. It might add some pressure, but you just gotta keep going.”
 

Tarvin completely agreed with Warren, adding that it helps to lean into the pressure.

“You see the guy on the tour, they know exactly where they’re at, or they can just look up at a board in college,” Tarvin said. “I think the best thing is that gives you the most pressure, knowing where you’re at and it makes you better playing with a lot of pressure.”

As Warren looked to finish off his final couple of holes, Tarvin said he and the rest of the Owls had faith in Warren closing out the victory.

“He had a one shot lead and that's the one guy you don't want to be battling (against) on the last hole is Bennett,” Tarvin said. “Then we were just so happy and relieved to realize that we actually won.”

Warren delivered par on the final hole while the Olathe Northwest golfer in his group, Jake Conley, shot a bogey to finish off his day. Warren tied Conley and his Conley’s teammate Nick VanWyngard for eighth place with a two-day score of 146.

Boggins finished with a 147 to reach a four-person tie for 11th. Nickloy, who’s 69 on Day 1 counted toward the team’s score, earned a three-person tie for 15th with a 147 while Sullivan finished tied for 18th with a 152. Freshman Reece McClintock rounded out the Owls’ scores with a two-day score of 165 to finish 45th.

 

UN-SHOOK: GARDEN CITY’S MADDIX SHOOK SHRUGS OFF WINDY CONDITIONS TO DEFEND HOME TURF, WIN 6A INDIVIDUAL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Garden City senior Maddix Shook watched most of the Class 6A field struggle with change of conditions during Day 2 of the state tournament at his home course of Buffalo Dunes.

The wind speed approached 20 miles per hour to start the day, only slightly slowing down to 15 miles per hour in the early afternoon.

While other golfers needed time to adjust, Shook had no problem with the wind. In fact, the wind made Shook feel even more at home.

“I don’t know if we had a practice that was under 20 miles an hour winds,” Shook said. “Those first nine holes, it was real windy and it bothered a lot of the people, the groups and the other people in my group. 

“But it didn’t really phase me. I’ve just played in it so long, it almost just feels natural to play in it.”

Shook shot a 69, improving on his Day 1 score by one stroke, to finish with a 139 and win the Class 6A state tournament. Shook edged out Blue Valley West senior Ty Lasley, who finished with a 140 after shooting a 71 on Day 2. Blue Valley senior James Ackerman and Olathe South senior Tyler Strong led after Day 1 with a 67, but both golfers shot 75s on Day 2 to tie for third at 142.

While many golfers in the field struggled throughout the day, Shook had his toughest time on the fourth hole, which was true on both days.

“I was on the green both days and three putted for par,” Shook said. “But not really (any problems) besides that. I had a couple hiccups throughout the 36, but it was good a majority of the time.”

Shook said he knew going into his last five holes that he was in the mix for the top spot.

“After I found out, that’s when I went birdie, birdie,” Shook said. “But it definitely added a lot more pressure knowing that I was somewhere in the mix. For sure, but it was good.”
 

Shook closed out with three pars to close out with the one stroke victory over Lasley. Lasley had put himself into a great position by hitting two birdies during the first four holes on his back nine, only to bogey on 14. His four bogeys to close out with a 71 made it where Shook needed those back-to-back birdies to win the title.

“I had high hopes of winning it last year, too,” Shook said. “But coming in this year, I stayed calm and collected.”

Shook became just the third different golfer from Garden City to win an individual state championship, and the first to win it at a home course. Cole Wassinger won a state title in 1995 in Wichita while Sion Audrain won in 2017 and 2019 in Wichita and Mayetta respectively. The Buffaloes did win as a team in 1998 at The Golf Club at Southwind in Garden City.

Shook said it felt amazing to win the state title on his home course with his friends and family coming out in droves to support him, although it also added extra pressure to the moment. 

“Winning a state championship, man … it’s awesome,” Shook said. “I played really smart golf this week, kept it in play the entire time and it paid off at the end.”

Following Shook, Lasley, Ackerman and Strong, Olathe West senior Myles Tarvin took fifth with a 143. Olathe Northwest junior Blake Winter and Shawnee Mission East sophomore Hudson Bennish tied for sixth with a 145. Olathe West junior Bennett Warren tied the Olathe Northwest pair of senior Jake Conley and junior Nick VanWyngard for eighth place with a two-day score of 146.