BOYS GOLF STATE STORYLINES

CLASS 6A

At Quail Ridge GC, Winfield
 

FREE STATE'S THOMPSON FOLLOWS IN FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS WITH REGIONAL TITLE, STARTS TO CARVE OWN IDENTITY AS A GOLFER

Lawrence Free State junior Henry Thompson found his early lead from the first nine holes of his regional tournament slipping away late on May 19 at the Topeka Country Club.

A pair of Manhattan golfers in Charlie Haney and Tate Reid were closing the gap down the stretch. Haney maintained an even performance between the morning and the afternoon action while Reid found his rhythm late after a slow start to the day.

In the face of mounting pressure, Thompson kept his cool and closed out strong to win his first individual regional title.

Thompson shot a 73, including a 35 on the front nine, to take first at regionals. He helped lead the Firebirds to second-place finish in the team race, finishing seven strokes back of regional champ Manhattan’s 306.

Free State boys golf coach Chuck Law said he was impressed with how Thompson handled himself during regionals.

“He stayed composed, dealt with the adversity he faced during the round, and came up huge when he needed to,” Law said.

Thompson already showed success on this course earlier this season. During the Topeka Country Club Invitational on April 28, Thompson shot a 72 to take third place behind Olathe Northwest’s Nick VanWyngarden with a 70 and Blue Valley West’s Parker Bennett with a 71.

“He is very comfortable at (Topeka Country Club) after having played in the Kansas Amateur there last summer,” Law said. “He really knows how to manage his game around there, he knows where to miss and where not to miss, and he knows what holes to be aggressive on.”

Law pointed to Thompson’s performances on the final two holes at regionals as him achieving that balance of aggressive play and playing it safe.

“He came up huge with a 20-foot birdie putt on 17 and a routine 2-putt par on 18 after nearly driving the green,” Law said.

With his performance, Thompson joined his father in becoming a regional champion as an individual. Chris Thompson, a 1994 graduate of Independence, won regional titles as a sophomore and as a senior before going on to become an All-American playing golf at the University of Kansas. The older Thompson would go on to have a two-decade long professional golf career.

Law said that Thompson has found a way to develop his own identity as a player.

“The improvement that he has shown, starting at the end of last summer and into this spring,  has been awesome to watch,” Law said. “He is playing with tremendous confidence right now, while at the same time learning how to grind and trying to be less hard on himself on the course.”

Thompson and his coaches are really confident that he’s on the cusp of putting together some special play on the golf course, possibly in Winfield.

“If it doesn't happen, one thing we know for sure is, he will be right back at it the next day because that's who he is and that's how he's wired,” Law said.

While Thompson will have a chance to add to his already strong postseason resume as an individual, his coach said his focus will be on how his play can help his team succeed out in Winfield.

“Henry is a team guy all the way,” Law said. “His goal for our team is the same as all of his teammates: to have Free State play on day two as a team for the first time. Now, he also expects to be in the mix for a state championship individually.”

If Thompson can keep himself in that company during Day 1, it will go a long way to trying to get Free State to advance as a team in a loaded 6A field.

Free State advanced to state as a team in back-to-back years in 2021 and 2022 before missing out on that the last two seasons. The 6A state tournament in 2021 was held at Quail Ridge that year, with the Firebirds finishing 16 strokes back of advancing to Day 2.

In addition to Thompson, junior Cash Nelson and sophomore A.J. Kimzey finished in the top 10 at regionals. Nelson took sixth with a 78 while Kimzey landed in a three-player tie for seventh with a 79.

CLASS 5A

At Emporia Municipal GC
 

MAIZE SOUTH’S MATTHEWS LOOKS TO BUILD ON 2024 STATE HIGHLIGHTS
 
For Maize South’s Laken Matthews, the 2024 Class 5A state tournament was and always will be a two-part story.
 
The opening act was sensational. Matthews blistered Newton’s Sand Creek for a 7-under par 65 that gave him a five-shot lead at the midway point of the 36-hole competition.
 
But most of that lead vanished on the first hole of Day 2, opening a path for Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Asher Whitaker to surge past Matthews for a two-shot victory and lead the Crusaders to their third 5A title in four years.
 
Whitaker has moved on to play collegiately at Oklahoma. But Matthews, a senior, is back for a final state run at Emporia Municipal after leading the Mavericks to a dominating victory in last week’s 5A regional at Wichita’s Auburn Hills. Matthews carded a 3-over 75 to earn medalist honors and Maize South placed all six of its golfers in the top seven, posting a four-man total of 320 to outpace runner-up Great Bend by 55 shots.
 
Matthews, a Friends University commit, has shown a penchant for going low, posting rounds in the 60s this spring at the Dodge City and Hesston invitationals. Just days after his 65 last year at Sand Creek, Matthews fired rounds of 67 and 65 to win the Wichita City Junior at Sim Park.
 
That opening round at state paid dividends, Matthews believes.
 
“The really big positive was shooting that 7 under,” Matthews said. “That was my best score at that time. That gave me a lot of confidence. Even the tournaments that followed after that I played a lot better.”
 
Even though Matthews slipped to a 78 in the final round at state, he displayed moxie in earning the runner-up finish. Matthews opened the round by striping his tee shot down the middle on Sand Creek’s par-4 first hole. But the ball carried past the first part of a divided fairway and settled into the rough, where Matthews was unable to find it.
 
Returning to the tee box, Matthews hit his second drive into a water hazard right of the fairway, leading to a quadruple bogey.
 
But Matthews battled back, sharing the lead with Whitaker until the Kapaun standout rolled in a 36-foot birdie on the par-3 17^th to take the lead for good.
 
One of two seniors on Maize South’s state team along with Colten Hoover, Matthews leads the Mavericks with a 77 stroke average. Junior Joe Binger (77.4) and Hoover (79.1) were also top-20 finishers last year at state, helping Maize South to a fourth-place team finish.
 
Matthews has searched for consistency this season, posting scores as low as 67 at Dodge’s Mariah Hills and as high as 83 in the Bishop Carroll 5A Invitational at Wichita’s Tallgrass.
 
“This year, there’s been more focus on the mental side of things,” Matthews said. “That’s just how golf is. It’ll get you sometimes and take you down. There were days where it got away last year when I was having a really good season. It just wasn’t on tournament days.”
 
Matthews is optimistic heading to Emporia Municipal, a course he likens to Hesston and Wichita’s Tex Consolver. With its relatively open driving spaces, Matthews says scores like 65 “might not even win it.”
 
Regardless, when Matthews hovers in that range, there is often a common thread.
 
“My pitch shots,” Matthews said. “My 60- to 80-yard shots are usually on when I’m playing well. At state last year, I was sticking them to close to a foot and a lot of them were pretty much tap-ins.
 
“And to do that, you have to be driving it well, too. I wouldn’t be in those spots to dial in if I wasn’t hitting it from the fairway.”


CLASS 4A

At Sand Creek Station GC, Newton
 

WAMEGO'S KUEKER FLOURISHING IN RED RAIDERS' NO. 1 SPOT

During its recent run of success – one that’s included Class 4A state championships each of the past two seasons and three other top-five finishes in the past nine seasons -- the No. 1 position for the Wamego golf team has been somewhat fluid.
 
The incredible depth the program has boasted for the past decade lent itself to having multiple players stepping up to fill that spot at any given tournament. It might have been the likes of Cooper Spears, Ryan Elder, Parker Waters and Thomas Dillon in the mid-to-late 2010s to Dylan Tyner and Levi Long in the early 2020s to more recently Cash Foltz, Spencer Hecht and Talon White.
 
And while this year’s edition also boasts multiple candidates capable of finishing in that No. 1 spot, one Red Raider has seized his opportunity the spring to become Wamego’s clear-cut top guy.
 
With his victory at Monday’s Class 4A regional at Wamego Country Club, junior Regan Kueker notched his fifth victory of the season. It’s the most victories by an individual during Scott Kitch’s tenure as coach and believed to be the most every by a Red Raider in a single season.
 
“I’ve always looked up to guys like Cash, Spencer and Talon,” Kueker said. “I was on the team my freshman year and they were my leaders. I just wanted to be like them for sure. It was a great opportunity to go out and lead a team myself and we’ve got great guys on this team to help me. It’s a great dynamic and I love it.”
 
After capturing the 2023 4A state championship by a mere two strokes, Wamego ran away with the crown a year ago. Placing five individuals in the top 10, the Red Raiders posted a two-day team score of 589 and won by a whopping 40 shots over McPherson.
 
Graduation claimed three of those medalists with Hecht tying for fourth, Foltz placing sixth and White taking 10th. But both Kueker and Breckin Miller returned, each tying for seventh after finishing with two-day totals of 149.
 
Each showed flashes of being able to fill the void at the top of Wamego’s lineup at state a year ago. Miller was the more consistent of the two over the two days at McPherson’s Turkey Creek Golf Course, shooting a 73 on the first day and then a 76 on the second day.
 
Kueker, meanwhile, started the state tourney on fire with an even-par 70 in the opening round that had him sitting fourth and three shots off the tourney lead. He couldn’t quite match that on the second day, shooting a 79 to slip back into a tie for seventh with Miller and Independence’s Ethan Small.
 
“The second day was rough,” Kueker said. “The nerves got to me a little bit.”
 
Knowing he was going to be counted on even more this season to lead the Red Raiders, Kueker went to work on his game.
 
“There definitely was a lot of pressure and I felt the only way to do it was practice, practice, practice,” he said. “I put a lot of time in on the simulator and made sure I was ready. I felt last year, it took me awhile to get things started. This year I focused on playing more in the offseason and doing everything I can.”
 
Perhaps the most important decision he made in the offseason was attending a three-day camp at the Franklin Bridge Performance Institute offered by PGA professional Scott Hassee in Franklin, Tenn.
 
“It was really helpful,” Kueker said. “He’s really good at the mental game, strategy. It was really one-on-one. I played decent golf, but I really learned a lot. I think it really helped me strategically get around the course better and put me in position to score better. That’s been a big game-changer between last year and this year.”
 
Kueker began to see the dividends from his offseason dedication pay off immediately. In Wamego’s first tournament of the season on the Red Raiders’ home course, he shot a an even-par 71 to pick up his first career victory.
 
As encouraging as that performance was, his next one might have been even more so. At the Manhattan Invitational, Kueker made a pair of triple bogeys over his first four holes. Instead of letting the blowup holes lead to a blowup round, he recovered nicely and shot 2-over the rest of the way to finish with a 78 and tie for fifth at the tourney.
 
Since, Kueker has been lights out. His highest round over his last seven tournaments was the 73 he shot to win the regional title on Monday. Twice, he’s dipped below par – something he’d never done in his high school career – including a 4-under 68 in the I-135 Shootout played at Sand Cree Station where he was 3-over par early in his round before playing his final 10 holes in 7 under to share low honors at the tourney with Andover’s Grant Hartzenbuehler.
 
That was one of three more titles he added to his season-opening victory, getting the other two at Chapman and the North Central Kansas League meet. Kueker posted a 2-under 70 for the league title at Colbert Hills Golf Course.
 
“It’s surreal, that’s the best way I can explain it,” Kueker said of his season. “It’s been everything I dreamed of. I finally got over the hump of shooting under par. That’s helped me with my confidence a lot.
 
“I’ve been playing decent golf all season. The biggest difference this year is I’ve been able to make mistakes and then bounce back and not let it affect me.”
 
Kueker’s steady presence has helped Wamego keep on rolling this season despite its big graduation losses. The Red Raiders have consistently posted team scores in the low 300s, going over 315 just once at the Manhattan Invitational where scoring in general was high.
 
They posted a 299 at the second round of the I-135 Shootout at Hesston and nearly got back under 300 at regionals with a 300 that won the regional by 14 strokes over Hayden.
 
At the regional, Wamego swept the top three individual spots with Wyatt Bruch one shot behind Kueker for the title with a 74 and Miller two strokes back in third with a 75. Kaden Tyner added a seventh with a 78.
 
The team title was the fifth this season for the Red Raiders and Kitch credited Kueker with helping the team maintain the standard its set over its last two championship season. 
 
“He’s worked really hard at it and his work ethic has shown the kids that you’ve got to put in the time if you want to get better,” Kitch said. “He’s been a great leader and he’s the one pushing the kids to stay and work after practice, get out on the weekends for some practice rounds.
 
“It’s huge what he’s done because we’re not quite as deep as we’ve been the past few years from one to six. But knowing Reg’s going to go out and at worst shoot a couple over … He’s been so consistent.”
 
For all the individual success Kueker has enjoyed, he still finds the most joy in leading Wamego to tourney titles and winning a third straight title is priority No. 1 this week.
 
“It’s great seeing your scores get better, but it’s even better seeing your team win,” he said. “Being able to walk up and get trophies at all the tournaments and that’s way better than individual stuff.
 
“I give us a great shot. Me, Kaden and Breckin are really consistent. I give our 4-5-6 men a great chance to shoot low 80s, high 70s. I think we can do it.”
 

CIRCLE DEVELOPS DEPTH IN CHASE FOR TEAM TITLE
 
Anderson Helmer prefers to win, something he has done a lot in three seasons as a Circle golfer.
 
But the 2023 Class 4A medalist and last year’s state runner-up can appreciate the potential team ramifications after last week’s 4A regional at Wichita’s Willowbend Golf Club.
 
Helmer’s 3-over 75 left him in third place individually, two shots behind junior teammate and individual medalist Wyatt Sharp, and one behind another teammate, Logan Martin, the Thunderbirds’ lone senior. Circle’s four-man score of 304 won the tournament by 17 shots over second-place Andale.
 
“It’s definitely competitive,” said Helmer, who helped Circle edge another 4A regional champion, Buhler, by two shots for the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail III title two weeks ago. “I’m like, ‘I don’t want them to beat me.’
 
“But this helps if we’re going to go after it.”
 
As Helmer and the Thunderbirds try to figure out how to unseat two-time reigning 4A team champion Wamego on Tuesday and Wednesday at Newton’s Sand Creek, they’ll do so with quality depth at the top.
 

 A 1-2-3 finish might be too much to ask at state, but last week’s results displayed Circle’s potential for closing the gap. Sharp, Martin and Helmer are holdovers from the Thunderbirds’ last two state-qualifying teams, which finished fourth two years ago at Winfield’s Quail Ridge and third last spring at McPherson’s Turkey Creek.
 
Circle was 21 shots behind Wamego’s winning two-day total in 2023 and 41 shy of the Red Raiders a year ago.
 
“I think we’re at one of our best spots for making up ground,” said Sharp, who also led the Thunderbirds to a victory in their late-April home tournament at Willowbend, carding a 71. “Logan is leaving us after this year, so we’re trying to get it done.”
 
Junior Kolton Parrish provided Circle’s fourth score at regionals, shooting an 82 to tie for ninth. He got his first state experience last year at Turkey Creek, tying for 38^th.
 
With sophomore Kyson Smith and freshman Lawson Waldmeier making their first state appearances this week, the impetus will be on Circle’s returnees to perform well both days for the Thunderbirds to improve on past state finishes. Circle and Wamego were both part of the 36-hole, one-day I-135 Shootout played at Hesston and Sand Creek earlier this month.
 
In the Sand Creek portion of the tournament, Wamego finished second to Andover with a 308 total. Circle tied for sixth at 326.
 
“I think it helps us that we’re chasing them,” Helmer said. “They’ve got a great team. We’re fine that we’re not the ones being chased.”
 
Sharp, whose 86 at Sand Creek matched his high round of the season, drew personal motivation from that for the season’s stretch run.
 
“We felt like we didn’t play to our level,” Sharp said. “I think it fired something in us and we kind of showed it (at regionals).
 
“We’ve played Sand Creek multiple times and it’s almost like a home course to us. I think we’re going to be good.”


CLASS 3A

At Buffalo Dunes GC, Garden City
 

SABETHA’S RENYER REFUSES TO MISS SENIOR SEASON, LOOKS TO LEAD BLUEJAYS TO TTILE
 
It was bad enough that Caleb Renyer wasn’t able to finish off his senior wrestling season.
 
During his Class 3-2-1A 144-pound regional semifinal match Renyer advanced to the semifinals before losing by technical fall to Herington’s Reid Griffiths. During the match, he tweaked his right knee.
 
The injury didn’t immediately end his season as he came back in his consolation semifinal match and took a 12-7 decision over Atchison County’s Rance Vessar. But while doing a warm-up stretch for his third-place match, things changed.
 
“I was doing my pre-match routine and ended up tearing my meniscus,” Renyer said. “I was just stretching and it tore. I think it was already messed up. The semifinal match I ended up losing, I hurt it pretty good in that match. I felt it so I was just stretching it out and it ended up tearing.”
 
And just like that his season was over.
 
“I was was obviously super-bummed out, especially knowing I was in the mix (for a state title),” Renyer said. “I had a match I lost in the last 15 seconds to Seth Keeten of Phillipsburg, who’d gotten third the previous year. I kind of knew I was in the mix of people that had a chance to do well.”
 
After having surgery on March 4, Renyer was told he’d be out for six months. Which meant he wouldn’t be back to compete in his senior golf season after being a starter on Sabetha teams that have finished as the Class 3A state runner-up each of the past two seasons.
 
That was a diagnosis he just couldn’t live with.
 
“I didn’t really ever accept that I wasn’t going to be able to golf,” he said. “There wasn’t a point in time where I was like, ‘No way, I’m not golfing.’ I just kept that mindset throughout the whole recovery process.”
 
Working with physical therapist Brian Voos in Sabetha, Renyer set out to make sure he made it back. After missing two and a half months, that’s exactly what he did.
 
Renyer missed Sabetha’s first four meets of the season, but returned to action at the May 1 St. Marys Invitational and gives the Bluejays a key player back as they look to capture the 3A title that has just eluded them the past two seasons.
 
“When I heard he hurt it, he told me it was six months and I just didn’t think there was much of a chance at all,” Sabetha coach Nicolas Richardson said. “Then after three weeks, he’s out trying to walk and play. We told him, ‘Hey, you need to be in a cart if you’re going to be out here.’ And once he got clearance to walk, it was kind of what could he tolerate. It was pretty exciting to have him back. It would have been terrible for him to miss the season being a senior who’s been two state twice.”
 
Renyer shot an 85 in his first meet back and then posted an 83 to tie for 12th at the Holton Invitational four days later. After tying for 10th at the Marysville Invitational, Renyer carded an 80 at the Big East League meet at Sabetha Country Club to tie for fourth.
 
It was the lowest round of his high school career.
 
“I did PT and all the right things to get back,” he said. “It really doesn’t affect me and I’m back to normal. I think I’m back to where I was last year golf swing-wise.”
 
High school golf isn’t exactly conducive to players recovering from knee surgery. Golfers are required to walk all 18 holes. But Renyer said after some early conditioning hindrances, he’s felt fine and carries his bag instead of using a push cart.
 
“I tried that, but it put more stress on me it seemed,” he said. “The first meet was rough. I was out of breath a lot. But I’ve seen my leg develop a lot more and I’ve been able to walk so much better. At regionals, I felt 100% normal.”
 
With Renyer back in the fold, Sabetha will be in the mix to capture the Class 3A state title at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in Garden City. The Bluejays took second at regionals to Marysville after splitting regular-season meetings with the Bulldogs.
 
Marysville posted a 319 at regionals, led by individual champion Mason Rader’s. 72, while Sabetha was four shots back at 323, led by Roman Scoby’s runner-up finish with a 74.
 
No other 3A team had a score lower than 330. And with defending champion Hesston not qualifying for state as a team this year, the chase for the 3A title is as wide open as maybe it’s ever been.
 
“Last year, I felt we were favored to win it and Hesston played great over those two days,” Richardson said. “To go back there, I think the boys are thinking it’s anybody’s game. There’s a good chance there if we can put together some good rounds.
 
“I think we were a little taken aback by Marysville because we expected to go down and win regionals and they’ve been playing great. We wanted to get them down there, but in the end we met our goal of getting to state and now we want to capitalize.”
 
Which was a big motivator for Renyer never giving up on making his senior season happen.
 
“I think that’s part of the reason I never gave up,” he said. “I knew this year we would have a shot to do it. I knew I would be a key part of the team and I wanted to do it for the other guys on the team to give us one more shot.”


CLASS 2A

At Turkey Creek GC, McPherson
 

HOXIE'S NOAH DOWELL LOOKS TO BUILD OFF STRONG REGIONAL EFFORT 

It’s been a roller-coaster season for Noah Dowell, but the Hoxie senior will enter the 2A tournament on a big upswing. 

Dowell started the season with back-to-back rounds in the 80s. He rebounded with a season-best 70 to win the Norton Invitational and followed it up with a 71 at the Hoxie Invitational. 

Dowell finished in the mid-to-high 70s in his next three tournaments before hitting a snag at the Mid-Continent League tournament with an 83. 

But Dowell answered back with a strong effort at the regional meet, shooting a 71 at Wichita County Municipal Golf Course to cruise to the regional title by six strokes. 

“It’s been up and down,” Dowell said. “It’s kind of just been a work-up until state, just trying to improve my game for state golf, and that’s what I feel like I’ve done.”

Dowell will look to bottle up the momentum from the regional meet in which he also led the Indians to a team title. 

“I just kept it in the fairway and made some putts,” Dowell said. “I definitely have the momentum with me right now, especially bouncing back after a rough MCL tournament. I’m definitely rolling right now.

“Last year, I was just not the best around the green. Now that I’m doing better with my short game, I’ve really improved.”

Hoxie carded a 324 at regionals to win by 11 strokes over Syracuse. Sam Watkins took third with a 78 while Charlie Foote also joined Dowell and Watkins in the top 10, tying for seventh with an 83. Brodie Tremblay’s 92 also counted toward the Indians' team score while Max Foote and Mathew Bretz each shot 93s. 

“It’s been an awesome season with these guys,” Dowell said. “It's a blast.

“We knew we had a pretty stacked regional. We knew we had to come out and perform. It was awesome to seeing everyone playing better from the start of the season to now.”

Dowell and the Indians will now turn their focus to Turkey Creek. 

“I’ve played it a couple times in KGCA and a couple practice rounds,” Dowell said. “It’s a pretty straight course and if you’re hitting the ball well, there will be some low scores. 

“I just want to play my best, and if that comes with a championship or a top-five finish, or whatever comes with it, I’ll take it and be happy. Mindset will be key, just not getting down or giving up and overcoming little things. Just keeping my mind in the right place.”

Sacred Heart will be aiming for its 10th consecutive team state championship. The Knights are led by Luke Newell and Dominic Matteucci, who went 1-2 at the regional meet in Salina. Newell shot a 69 and Matteucci carded a 75.  
CLASS 1A

At Mariah Hills GC, Dodge City
 

ELKHART LOOKS TO GIVE DOMINANT SOUTH GRAY STRONG COMPETITION 

Unbeatable over the last three seasons, two-time defending champion South Gray will be a favorite to continue its reign in 1A. 

But Elkhart proved last week it belongs on the short list of potential challengers to the Rebels’ throne. 

The Wildcats were within striking distance of a regional title at Kinsley before finishing seven shots back of South Gray, which captured their 29th consecutive tournament title. 

“We were three strokes up on them with about three holes to play,” Elkhart coach Kevin Shook said. “We were right there until the end, we just have to figure out a way to polish it off.”

South Gray finished with a 324 to Elkhart’s 331 at the regional meet. The Rebels were led by the 1-2 finish from Gavin Wahl (72) and Cameron Wahl (74) while Elkhart’s Bodie Higgins took third with a 75. 

The Rebels have enjoyed another dominant season, led by Gavin Wahl, the reigning 1A individual state champion who enters state having won his last seven tournaments. The junior owns the best season average in the state at 70. 

Elkhart has enjoyed a strong season in its own right and will be looking to improve on last year’s third-place state showing, which was the best finish in school history. 

“I think they expect a little bit more out of themselves,” Shook said. “They’d love to win first but they know it’s going to be a challenge with South Gray and how dominant they’ve been in 1A. 

“But I really think they understand that they are not that far off. Any one ball bouncing the wrong way could help us or hurt us.”

Higgins, who tied for fifth at state last year as a junior, had carded three straight rounds of 73 before his 75 at regionals. He was the Hi-Plains League tournament champion. 

“I’ve never seen a kid work as hard as he has,” Shook said. “He puts a ton of time in during the season and in the offseason. He does everything you’d want a kid to do. 

“He just has to be headstrong and understand he’s as good as the rest of the guys there. If he bounces back from a bad hole, which is the hardest thing to do in golf, he’s going to do fine. We stress that just because you put all that work in, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be a guarantee, but you’ve set yourself up for success, and hopefully it comes his way.”

Higgins was joined in the top 10 at regionals by teammates Grady Jones and Gavin Schumacher, who tied for seventh with 83s. Murray Houtz took 15th for the Wildcats with a 90. 

Jones, a sophomore, has given the Wildcats a boost this season after recovering from hip surgery and undergoing laser surgery to correct his vision. 

“At the start of the season, he was around a 90 average,” Shook said. “Last few tournaments he’s been in the low 80s. We’re expecting big things out of him.”

The Wildcats have history at Mariah Hills, with former Elkhart standout Hunter Burnett winning the individual state title at the course in 2013. A picture of Burnett from that meet hangs in the clubhouse at the course in Elkhart. 

“We have good vibes on that,” Shook said. 

Shook said the course also sets up well for the Wildcats.

“There’s some openness on that golf course, fewer trees, and we’re going to play in some wind, and I think that helps us against some of the eastern Kansas teams,” he said. “South Gray, it’s kind of like their second home, so it’s going to be a tough test to compete with them, because I know their kids get a lot of time on that course. 

“We’ve played in the Dodge City Invitational two years in a row against the 5A and 6A competition there, and knowing that we can compete with those bigger schools, it gives us some confidence to see what we can do at the 1A level.”

Hutchinson Central Christian could be another possible contender. The Cougars took second to South Gray last year by 57 strokes. They were state champions in 2022. 

Central Christian rolled to a regional title with a 331, led by a 1-2 finish from Cael Kooiman (77) and Ry Kooiman (80). Cael was the individual state runner-up last year as a freshman, finishing one stroke back of Gavin Wahl. Ry was the 2022 individual state champion.

SAND GREENS

At Cottonwood Falls CC
 

LAKESIDE EYES FIVE-PEAT 

Lakeside will look to add another chapter to its dominance of sand greens golf as the Knights aim for a fifth straight championship. 

Lakeside senior Jace Cunningham is the two-time reigning individual champion. The Knights also returned two top-10 medalists from last year in Gabe Smith and Tatum Miller. Smith and Miller placed sixth and ninth, respectively, last season at Tipton Oaks. 

Cunningham cruised at the state meet last season, winning by eight strokes with a 4-under par 66.

Possible contenders for the individual title include Rock Hills’ Ethan Wirth and Riley County’s Harvey Lister. Wirth and Lister tied for second at state last year with 74s.

The Sand Greens meet has been pushed back to Wednesday because of heavy rains.