One of Chesney Clark’s biggest highlights of her high school golfing career was getting to go to state.
 
Only here’s the catch. 
 
“I had the incredible opportunity to go to state, but it was with the boys team,” said Clark, who was the lone girl on South Central’s 2006 team that finished runner-up in Class 1A.
 
As much as she cherished the experience, Clark also always would have loved the chance to compete during the girls season against her peers. And while she never got the chance, she wanted to ensure future girls could.
 
Now a teacher at Herington, Clark was approached by a handful of underclassmen last year interested in starting a girls’ program at the school. Even though she never had coached golf before, she was more than willing to help them achieve that goal.
 
This fall, Herington has a girls program of its own with Clark as coach. The Railers have four players out this season and while the numbers are few, it’s a start. Raquel Lawrenz has already become the Railers’ first tourney medalist, placing 12th at the Jefferson West Invitational on Aug. 28.
 
“I saw talent in many girls at Herington, and I wanted them to have the opportunity to golf on an even playing field with other girls,” Clark said.
 
Herington is one of several new girls golf programs playing their first seasons this fall. In just the North Central Kansas area alone, Herington has been joined by Nemaha Central and Hiawatha with first-year programs.
 

 
Nemaha Central welcomed 14 girls to its inaugural team after a handful of students lobbied for the program last year. The Thunder have fielded both varsity and junior varsity teams at tournaments so far this year and at the varsity’s debut tourney, the Thunder finished fourth as a team at the nine-hole Jefferson West Invitational with their top finisher just missing out on earning a medal in a playoff.
 
“So far I have been happy with the progress we have made and the excitement and dedication they have shown,” Nemaha coach Danny Edwards said.
 

 
Hiawatha has yet to play its first tournament, getting its season started on Thursday. The Red Hawks have nine girls on this year’s team, many of whom have played for the boys program, which consistently has had as many as seven girls participating.
 
“They had little chance to be competitive amongst each other at a higher level as they were mostly limited to the boys JV meets and played from the boys tees,” Hiawatha coach Keith Erdley said.
 
Erdley has two golfers who were daughters and while his oldest wasn’t able to reap the benefits of a girls program, his youngest is a junior on this year’s team.
 
“I wish we would have added girls golf a couple years earlier for their sake,” he said. “But it will be a great addition nonetheless. These girls have drastically improved in just a few weeks of practice.”
 
Rock Creek is in its second year, making the plunge a year ago.
 
“We had a huge influx of girls that decided that since they were not playing volleyball and golf was something their parents and families enjoyed, they would start to play during the summer and then come out for a team,” said Mustang coach Patrick Bramhall, who had 18 players on the initial roster last fall. “Starting this program has been incredibly important for us as a school. Our school is growing rapidly and as you know in a school our size we have to give kids multiple opportunities and activities to participate in. … Adding a new sport that allows more students to be involved plus teach those students a sport and hobby they can play for the rest of their lives is incredible.”
 
Jordyn Schneider made history for the program by becoming the first Mustang girl to qualify for state, advancing as an individual out of the toughest Class 4A regional last fall. She’s one of 15 girls out for the team this year with five players returning off last year’s regional team.
 

 
The improvement has already shown up. Rock Creek finished second as a team at the Concordia Invitational with Makenna Wallace placing second individually and Jovi Griffith tying for third. The Mustangs placed five in the top 10 overall at the tourney and as a team the Mustangs improved 20 shots from its performance at the tourney last fall.
 
“To see where the girls are this year compared to last year is incredible,” Bramhall said. “The steps they have taken are awesome to see and I’m blessed to have a group of girls come from other competitive sports/activities and have brought that competitiveness and drive to succeed to this program.”
 
Maur Hill and Marysville are each entering their third seasons with girls golf.
 
Maur Hill started with just three players two years ago and have seen the number improve to 10 this season. Like Erdley at Hiawatha, Ravens coach Eddie Gibson had personal reasons to get the program going.
 
“My daughter was a freshman playing on the boys team and she hated golf,” he said. “She wanted to love it, but playing with three 18-year-old boys from the white tees, it just made it impossible to love. She knew she’d never really be able to compete and wanted to give up.
 
“The growth has been amazing. In her senior year, being able to put together a team that could turn some heads this year, will be an amazing thing.”
 
 

 
OTHER GOLF STANDOUTS

• Wamego’s Addison Douglass, the three-time defending Class 4A state champion, is already two-for-two with tournament wins this season. Douglass shot a career-low 3-under 68 to take the title at the 4A Girls State Preview at Carey Park Golf Course in Hutchinson to open the season and then bested a 6A-loaded field that included past 6A champion Ella Slicker of Shawnee Mission East at the Washburn Rural Invitational at Wamego Country Club. Douglass shot a 1-over 71 at that tourney to beat Slicker and Manhattan’s Maddie Myers by a stroke each. Wamego took the team title at the 4A State Preview with a 329 total, edging Wellington by five shots. Lillian Costa and Maizie Nickel tied for 10th for the Red Raiders with 86s with Costa also tying for ninth at the Rural meet with an 83.
• Defending Class 6A champion Manhattan captured the team title at the Rural tournament at Wamego, posting a team score of 319 to finish two shots ahead of Shawnee Mission East. Myers led the way with her tie for second while Lily Bahr placed seventh with an 81 and Kat Ball and Wrenn Burton tied for ninth with 83s.
• Concordia’s Mya Niehues ran away with the individual title at the Panthers’ home meet, shooting a 5-ovder 73 to win by 16 shots over Rock Creek’s Makenna Wallace. The Panthers also took the team title with a 365 team score, 10 shots ahead of Rock Creek. Niehues also took fourth individually at the 4A State Preview tourney with an 80.
• Seaman’s Elise Eckert still made herself home at the Emporia Invitational after transferring from Emporia to Seaman this offseason. The former Spartan and current Viking returned to her home course and shot a 3-under 68 to take the individual title by two strokes over Hayden’s Izzy Glotzbach, who posted the lowest individual score for the Wildcats during Jayson Duncan’s tenure as head coach with a 1-under 70. Seaman won the team title as well with a 315 total, 25 ahead of Hayden.
• Silver Lake’s Kaylin Hanni won the Jefferson West Invitational title for the second straight year, shooting a 40 and winning a playoff with Jefferson West’s Dearah Garrett, who also shot a 40. Garrett and Izzy Higgins, who was third with a 41, led the Tigers to the team title with a 169 team score, nine ahead of Silver Lake.

 

 
BOYS SOCCER STANDOUTS

• Cair Paravel senior Nathan Keys has extended his streak of games with a goal scored to 16 straight with goals in each of the Lions’ first three matches this fall. Keys, who finished last season with 23 goals to rank among the state leaders, has led the Lions to a 2-1 mark so far this season and has five goals already this season.
• Washburn Rural’s Dylan Willingham scored five goals in two Rural wins last year, pushing his career total to 35 goals. He had two in a 6-0 win over Shawnee Heights and a hat trick in a 6-0 win over Wichita Northwest.
• Topeka High’s Neri Diez had two goals and two assists in his first game, helping the Trojans to a 5-1 win over Manhattan. He added an assist in a 4-1 win over Hayden and the Trojans are off to a 3-1 start overall after an 8-0 win over Highland Park on Monday.

 
GIRLS TENNIS STANDOUTS

• Seaman’s Emma Sweeney and Landrie Earnest each went undefeated in singles play at the Vikings’ first tournament. Sweeney won the No. 1 singles title while Earnest took first at No. 2 singles. Seaman won the tourney with 10 points.