GARDEN CITY – As the list of contenders on a crowded leaderboard started to whittle itself down, Hesston’s Grant Waterson only had a vague idea where things stood down the stretch of the Class 3A state tournament on Wednesday at Buffalo Dunes.

“Coach (Grady Pauls) was telling me to play it as safe and not to press anything or make a bad decision,” Waterson said. 

“He said: ‘Don’t four-putt the last hole.’”

Waterson fought through wind and light rain to maintain a lead throughout the back nine, sealing a two-shot victory with a par on 18. He recorded a 3-over-par 147 for the tournament. 

The Swather senior entered the second round one shot back of Day 1 leader Landon Langston of Wichita Collegiate, with a host of others still in the mix. 

“Only one shot back with bad conditions today, I knew anything could happen,” Waterson said. “Just had to keep my head on me, get some good rest and play hard today. 

“It was about mentality, not a certain physical aspect of it -- getting in the right headspace and competing in bad conditions.”

Langston was within one shot of Waterson heading into the 16th, but his tee shot found the gunch, leading to a double bogey. 

After shooting a 1-under 71 on Tuesday, Waterson shot a 76 on Wednesday but managed to avoid big numbers. 

“Patience was going to be the key,” Pauls said. “It’s not an overly-long golf course. Driver is not necessarily always needed, but placement is off the tee is what was needed.”

On Tuesday, Waterson’s tournament got off to a disastrous start with a triple bogey on the first hole, but he atoned for it with six birdies. 

“You’ve got to just hang in there and you never know when the golf course can give you a couple back,” Pauls said. 

“We knew today was going to be a different day with the wind blowing,” Pauls said. “Holes 7 to 10 were not fun with that heavy mist. But he kept his head down and just kept playing. It was fun to see him play these two rounds of golf the way he did.”
 

Humboldt’s Connor Newman and Council Grove’s Drew Buchman shared runner-up honors at 149. Both players shot identical rounds of 73 and 76 and ended up moving past Langston, who settled for fourth place after an 81 on Tuesday. 

Waterson helped Hesston win the team title last year, but the Swathers didn't qualify for state this season. 

“We had a tough regional and tough conditions and one of our best players was sick,” Waterson said. “It sucks not having a whole team here, but playing as an individual helped me focus on my game, and I think that led to the win also.”

“I’m really happy for Grant and I know the team’s happy for Grant,” Pauls said. “Happy for our program to add another individual state champion into those books.”
 

LANGSTON, SALYERS LEAD COLLEGIATE TO TEAM TITLE 

After racking up 19 state titles between 1990-2015, the powerhouse Wichita Collegiate golf program spent nearly a decade looking for championship No. 20. 

The drought is over. 

After holding a one-shot lead over Wichita Trinity heading into Wednesday’s final round, Collegiate held off the Knights by five strokes (644-649) to return to the top of 3A. 

“It means a lot,” sophomore Landon Langston said. “It’s really awesome to bring back some school morale to golf, because no one’s been really talking about it at our school for a while.”

Langston, a sophomore, led the Spartans with a fourth-place showing, carding a 7-over 151. Freshman Jacobi Salyers added a 10th-place showing at 155.

Like the individual battle, the title race appeared wide open but the Spartans solidified the title with the best team round of the second day with a 329 in tough conditions. 

“We were definitely confident but we knew we needed to put some good rounds together to make sure we solidified that first spot,” Langston said. 

“We’ve played good in bad conditions all year round,” Salyers said. “Today was no different. We just played as we normally do in bad conditions.

“This was a pretty good win against really good teams in 3A.”

Salyers tied for Wednesday’s best round with a 76, vaulting him into the top 10. 

“My driver (was the key). I was just getting in the fairway and playing from there,” Salyers said. 

The rest of Collegiate’s title team was comprised of junior Charlie Gentile (167), senior Zach Voloch (171) and freshmen Remy Blanchaert (178) and Torsten Overman (185). 

It’s been a huge couple of weeks for the dual-sport Gentile, who won the Class 3-1A individual tennis championship as well as the team title. 

Collegiate head coach Hans Widener was away from the team due to a family matter. Chris Ashbrook, the head administrator at Wichita Collegiate, handled coaching duties for the Spartans. 

For Langston, Wednesday was bittersweet. The Day 1 leader was still in the running for the individual title before a double bogey on 16 took him out of the equation. He shot an 81 on Wednesday after Tuesday’s 70. 

“I’m super happy for the team,” Langston said. “It was a great team win. Great first day for me, rough second day. But we should be excited as a team.

“I learned a lot today about what I should do next year when hopefully I’m in the same spot.”

Trinity had two top-20 finishers in Cole Palmer (sixth, 153) and Alex Majors (17th, 160). 

Sabetha took third with a 656, led by Roman Scoby’s nine-place effort.