CLASS 5A GIRLS GOLFERS TO WATCH IN 2025
 

MARY BINA, BISHOP CARROLL
 
Bina, a senior, earned All-Class 5A second-team honors for the Golden Eagles last season after finishing 12^th in the 5A state tournament at Salina Municipal. Bina carded rounds of 82 and 83 to lead Carroll to a fifth-place team finish. She posted her career-low round of 75 to finish second in the Greater Wichita Athletic League tournament, and led Carroll with a fifth-place finish at regionals, shooting an 85. After posting top-10 league and regional finishes as a sophomore, Bina cut her stroke average to a career-best 83.7 last fall.
 

ASPEN COLQUHOUN, ARKANSAS CITY
 
The left-handed Colquhoun, a junior, was Ark City’s lone state qualifier last season, shooting rounds of 80 and 89 to finish 14^th at the 5A tournament. She earned her second state berth with an 11^th-place finish at regionals. Colquhoun landed her second straight Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail II first-team honor after carding a career-best 78 to finish third in the league championship at Wichita’s Auburn Hills. As a freshman, Colquhoun tied for 37^th at state.
 

REGAN DUSENBERY, ANDOVER
 
While Dusenbery has been no stranger to winning throughout her high school career, a Class 5A individual title no doubt looms as a primary goal for her senior season. The Trojan standout has finished second to Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Ximena Sarinana each of the last two years, dropping a playoff as a sophomore at Hutchinson’s Carey Park and finishing two shots back last year at Salina Municipal after sharing the first-round lead. Dusenbery, a Minnesota commit, topped Sarinana for her second regional title last fall and led Andover to the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail II title with her second-place individual finish. Dusenbery captured AVCTL II individual victories as a freshman and sophomore, and finished sixth in 5A in her 2022 state debut as Andover's lone state qualifier.
 

ELISE ECKERT, SEAMAN
 
A standout for Emporia the past three seasons, Eckert has transferred to Seaman for her senior season and is a big-time addition for the Vikings, who were the United Kansas Conference champions last year but graduated their lone state placer. Eckert finished fourth at the Class 5A state tournament for the Spartans last year, posting a two-day total of 150 to finish eight shots out of first. That came after a fifth-place finish at state as a sophomore and 14th-place finish as a freshman. Her lone win of the season came at the Emporia Invitational where she shot a 71, but Eckert was a model of consistency with seven top-five finishes and eight top 10s in nine tournaments, earning first-team All-Class 5A honors.
 

REMI HARTLEY, KAPAUN MT. CARMEL

Hartley was one of two Crusader freshmen who helped Kapaun reload and win its fifth consecutive Class 5A title last season. She shared 16^th place with now-graduated teammate Claire Runyan, giving the Crusaders five top-20 medalists with their matching scores of 87 and 85. An All-5A honorable mention selection, Hartley also placed 12^th individually at regionals as Kapaun won that team title by 45 shots. She was one of three Kapaun golfers who competed at the PGA High School Golf National Invitational in July at Pinehurst, N.C.
 

ISABEL HAWLEY, ANDOVER
 
Hawley, a junior, is a two-time state qualifier who has been tantalizingly close to earning a Class 5A individual medal both seasons. She tied for 24^th as a freshman at Carey Park, then tied for 26^th with a two-day total of 179 last fall at Salina Municipal. Hawley also placed seventh at regionals, helping the Trojans earn a top-three team spot and advance for the second straight year. She tied for fourth at last season’s Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail II tournament to earn all-league first-team honors and joined teammate Regan Dusenbery on the All-Class 5A team as an honorable mention choice.
 

 
SOPHIA JOHNSON, BLUE VALLEY SOUTHWEST

A three-sport athlete for the Timberwolves also playing basketball and softball, Johnson has been a key member of Southwest’s golf team that’s finished fourth at the Class 5A state tournament the past two seasons. After tying for 18th at state as a sophomore, Johnson took on the leading role for the Timberwolves last year, leading the team with her 86 scoring average. She jumped up to a tie for sixth at state last year, shooting a high-school career-low 77 on the opening day and following with an 80 in round two for a 157 total to tie with St. Thomas Aquinas’ Katherine Adkins. Johnson finished tied for sixth in the Blue Valley Cup, which consists of two tournaments and earned honorable mention All-Class 5A honors after posting four top 10s in nine events overall last year. 
 

NAOMI KOONTZ, NEWTON
 
Koontz solidified her status as one of the state’s top underclassmen last season, winning the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail II individual title and the Class 5A regional at Hutchinson before finishing third at the 5A state tournament. She added victories in the Derby, Salina Central and Newton invitationals, firing a career-low 65 at Salina Municipal. Her 70.3 stroke average last fall led all 5A golfers and ranked No. 2 in all classes behind now-graduated four-time state champion Kinslea Jones of Maize. Koontz also finished fourth at state two years ago. Now a junior, Koontz is a two-time All-Class 5A and All-AVCTL II first-team performer. She’ll play under her father, Matt, this season as he takes over for retiring coach Joanie Pauls.
 

 
MCKENZIE LASTER, DE SOTO
 
Laster’s sophomore season didn’t get off to the best of starts as the Wildcat shot 100 or higher in two of her first three tournaments. But she finished on a big-time roll. Laster’s last four rounds of the season all were in the 80s as she fired an 89 to capture a Class 5A regional title and then she posted career-best 87s on both days of the Class 5A state tournament to finish at 174 and in a tie for 19th -- a huge jump from her 56th-place state showing as a freshman. Laster also had a third-place finish at the 9-hole Spring Hill Invitational with a 43.
 

ROSE MUEHLBERGER, ST. JAMES ACADEMY
 
A significant improvement by Muehlberger and the addition of a young crop of talent helped St. James Academy give Kapaun Mt. Carmel a run for its money for the Class 5A title last year as the Thunder finished just eight shots behind the five-time champion Crusaders. After placing 41st at state in 2023 Muehlberger jumped into the top 20 last year, placing 13th with a two-day total of 166. That included a career-best round of 82 on the opening day. She will team with sophomores Lynn Powell and Caroline Zacharias to give the Thunder their top three state finishers back this year as they look to end Kapaun’s reign. Muehlberger’s top individual finish was a tie for sixth at St. James’ 5A regional, her lone top 10 of the season.
 

EMMA NGUYEN, KAPAUN MT. CARMEL
 
Nguyen played a key role last season as a freshman for the Crusaders, finishing 10^th at state to help Kapaun fend off St. James Academy and win its fifth consecutive Class 5A team title. She opened with a 77 at Salina Municipal to reach the midpoint in a fifth-place tie, and was one of three Crusaders who carded an 85 in the final round as Kapaun added two shots to its first-round lead to win by eight. Nguyen also finished fourth at regionals and third at the Greater Wichita Athletic League tournament – both Crusader victories – to earn All-Class 5A second-team honors. This summer, she competed in the PGA High School Golf National Invitational at Pinehurst.
 

LYNN POWELL, ST. JAMES ACADEMY
 
Powell was one of two impact freshmen for St. James Academy a year ago that helped the Thunder make a huge jump into a top contender for the Class 5A team title, pushing five-time champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel. The Thunder had finished sixth as a team in 2023 but with Powell and Caroline Zacharias joining the mix, they leap-frogged to a runner-up finish as a team last year, finishing eight strokes behind Kapaun. Powell finished fifth individually at state to lead the Thunder, shooting a two-day total of 153 with rounds of 77 and 76. Powell was the regional runner-up to Zacharias – one of eight top-five finishes she posted in nine outings. She won the Blue Valley Northwest Invitational shooting a career-low 70 and scored in the 70s at every 18-hole meet but one. A first-team All-Class 5A selection, Powell, Zacharias and senior Rose Muehlberger return as the Thunder’s top-three state finishers giving St. James a strong trio to try and secure the program’s first state title. She is coming off a championship at the Kansas Junior Match Play.
 

 
XIMENA SARINANA, KAPAUN MT. CARMEL
 
Sarinana is halfway to joining the rarified company of Kansas four-time girls state champions Kinslea Jones (Maize), Julia Misemer (Blue Valley West) and Jill Simpson (Columbus), which is no small feat given the caliber of competition in Class 5A. Last fall, she held off Andover’s Regan Dusenbery by two shots and Newton’s Naomi Koontz by five to defend the 5A individual title she won as a freshman in a playoff against Dusenbery. Sarinana, who posted a 72.4 stroke average last season, also led Kapaun to its fifth straight 5A team crown. She defended her Greater Wichita Athletic League title, finished second to Dusenbery at regionals, and earned All-5A first-team honors for the second time.
 

MAKENNA STUKE, SEAMAN
 
Stuke recorded four top-10 finishes in nine tournaments last year as a solid No. 2 in the Viking lineup behind now-departed Jaycee Zimmerman. Stuke’s season was highlighted by a runner-up finish at Seaman’s Class 5A regional meet, finishing one stroke behind De Soto’s McKenzie Laster for the title. She also posted a third-place finish at the United Kansas Conference meet as she helped the Vikings to the team title. She had three top-five finishes overall and narrowly missed out on a state medal, placing 25th with a two-day total of 178 which included a career-best 84 on the second day.
 

CAROLINE ZACHARIAS, ST. JAMES ACADEMY
 
Zacharias and fellow freshman Lynn Powell were X-factor additions that helped transform St. James Academy into a legitimate contender for the Class 5A state title last year after placing sixth as a team in 2023. The Thunder trailed five-time champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel by just six strokes after the first day, but couldn’t close the ground and finished runner-up by eight shots as a team. Zacharias fired a 76 on the first day and an 82 on the second to finish at 158, good enough for an eighth-place state finish. That came on the heels of her lone win of the season at the Class 5A regional where she shot a high school career-best 73 for a three-shot win over Powell. Zacharias shot in the 70s in all but one of the Thunder’s 18-hole tourneys and posted four top fives and seven top 10s on her way to first-team All-Class 5A honors. She’s had an accomplished junior career that’s included 10 different KC Junior Tour Central Links event titles.

NOTE: Classifications for the 2025-26 school year had not been released at the time of publication. Golfers featured could potentially fall into a different classification once those have been determined.