Hutchinson Central Christian’s boys golf season was bound to be special, particularly for seniors Ryland Kooiman and Nathan Reed.
 
The two remaining holdovers from the Cougars’ Class 1A championship team of 2022 had younger brothers in the fold, with Ryland’s sophomore sibling, Cael, playing his second season and Nathan’s freshman brother, Tyler, competing for the first time.
 
On Wednesday, the one season with all four together culminated in a storybook ending.
 
With the quartet providing the scores that counted toward the Cougars’ team total, Central Christian pulled away from two-time defending champion South Gray and third-place finisher Elkhart for a 17-shot victory in the 1A state tournament at Dodge City’s Mariah Hills. The Cougars posted the best team score both days, shooting 318 and 315 for a 36-hole total of 633.
 

 “The biggest thing was they wanted this really bad,” Central Christian coach Michelle Capps said. “Having Ryland and Nathan, they know what winning is like and they wanted to do it again.
 
“But they also had their little brothers playing with them, and that was big. These guys have played together since they were little.”
 
Seniors Brody Froese and Tarren Scripsick completed the six-man team that returned to the top of 1A after the Cougars finished fourth in their 2023 state title defense and second to South Gray last May at Hesston Golf Course.
 
Central Christian finished 57 shots behind the Rebels in last year’s state tournament. On Wednesday, the Cougars snapped South Gray’s 29-tournament winning streak.
 
“I don’t think there was any key ingredient to that,” said the older Kooiman, the 1A individual champion as a freshman who tied for third Wednesday to lead the Cougars. “We all kept working in the offseason to get better and just had fun.”
 
Ryland Kooiman shot 6-over 148 to finish 12 shots behind South Gray’s Gavin Wahl, who won his second straight 1A individual crown after surging past Cael Kooiman on the final hole a year ago for a one-shot victory. Cael’s team-leading 73 in Wednesday’s final round gave him a 150 total and a seventh-place finish.
 
Nathan Reed’s rounds of 82 and 77 put him in a three-way tie for eighth, while Tyler shot 86-90 in his state debut to land in the top 25.
 
The Cougars used those scores to turn a two-shot edge over Elkhart and a five-shot advantage over South Gray after the opening day into a double-digit victory.
 
“We knew we left a lot out there that first day,” Nathan Reed said. “I know I left some shots out there and Cael said the same thing. We knew if we played our best, we’d be OK.
 
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight and I kind of used that to my advantage. I knew if I beat the guys from Elkhart and South Gray that I played with, we’d be in pretty good standing.”
 
The addition of Tyler Reed this spring gave Central Christian a steady fourth score each tournament. That played out all the way to the end.
 
“He did everything we needed him to do as a fourth player,” Capps said. “He came through and he delivered.”
 
Central Christian won its first state title in a rain-shortened tournament at Hesston. A rain chance in Wednesday’s forecast left Capps glad the Cougars had built a two-shot lead.
 
“As a coach, I was nervous as all get out,” she said. “But when the boys came to breakfast they were ready to play. They were excited and they were pumped.”
 
Nathan Reed, who matched his freshman state finish on Wednesday, said the Cougars simply didn’t play their best in the two 1A tournaments since their last victory. But he added Central Christian’s confidence never wavered in its journey to a second championship.
 
“You can only control what you can control,” Reed said. “We’ve just been patient and kept working at it.”
 

PAR-5 PROWESS, SOLID PUTTING HELPS SOUTH GRAY’S WAHL DEFEND TITLE
 
More than last year, when South Gray was well on its way to its second consecutive Class 1A team title, a good final round at the state tournament was simply a necessity Wednesday for Rebel junior Gavin Wahl.
 
“This year, I was down one and the team was losing,” Wahl said. “I was just trying to get the best score I could.”
 
Playing a state venue just down the road from his hometown of Montezuma, Wahl took advantage of his familiarity with Mariah Hills to lock down his second straight 1A individual championship. Wahl navigated the par-71 layout’s three par-5 holes in 6 under for the tournament and didn’t have a three-putt.
 
It also marked the second straight year Wahl and his older brother Cameron posted a 1-3 finish at state. Cameron Wahl carded scores of 72 and 76 to tied Central Christian’s Ryland Kooiman for third.
 
“That’s just quite an honor for that young man,” South Gray coach Jeff Blattner said. “Gavin has put so much work into his golf. He and Cameron are out working on their games all the time.
 
“Gavin has put the mental part of the game with the physical. That’s what made him so tough. If he has any trouble, he’s able to put that aside and think about what he’s got to get done.”
 

 On Wednesday, Wahl had to overcome a one-shot deficit to Elkhart’s Bodie Higgins. Higgins, who finished three shots behind medalist Wahl in third place at the Kinsley regional, carded a 4-under 67 in the opening round of state to set the early pace.
 
While Wahl duplicated his 68 to post the 1A field’s lone under-par round on Wednesday, Higgins shot a 78 to finish nine shots back in second with a 145 total.
 
Wahl, who eagled Mariah Hills’ par-5 sixth in the opening round, rolled in a 55-foot downhill birdie putt at the par-3 16^th for his signature moment of the final round.
 
“I hit a wedge from 150 off the tee and flew it to the back of the green,” Wahl said. “I was just trying to get my putt within a 3-foot circle of the hole.
 
“When it went in, I just thought this might be my day.”
 
Wahl’s performance around the greens made him formidable in every tournament. He said he lowered his putts per round average from 32 last season to 28 this spring.
 
“Last year, I wouldn’t say I was a bad putter,” he said. “But my strength was hitting it and not putting. This year, I mainly focused on putting and it really brought my game to another level.”
 
Wahl missed a short birdie attempt at the 17^th hole, but rolled in a 10-foot par putt at No. 18 to cap his victory. While his first state title came in dramatic fashion with a birdie on the final hole, Wahl was more pleased with his steady play on the way to a medalist repeat.
 
“I definitely played better this year,” he said. “Everything was just clicking. I got it done last year, that’s all I can say, and a win is a win. But 6 under this year felt a lot better than 3 over last year.”