The chase for a state title didn’t start in this spring — it started the moment Blue Valley North walked off the 18th green at state a year ago and was forced to watch someone else celebrate.
Everything since has looked like a response.
This spring, the Mustangs have turned that motivation into one of the best runs in program history, highlighted by a record-breaking performance on April 16 at the Country Club of Leawood. There, Blue Valley North surged to the Eastern Kansas League title, firing a school-record 279 (-5) to erase a first-round deficit and win by nine strokes.
The day also saw Rowan Banning etch his name into the record book, tying the program’s individual mark with a 5-under 66.
“Coming off a year where we fell just short of a state championship and returning four of those guys, we came in with the same goal,” Blue Valley North coach Trenton Hedlund said. “To be going into day two with a chance to win a state title.”
That focus didn’t come without an early stumble. The Mustangs opened the season with a 12th-place finish at the Shawnee Mission East Invitational, but quickly found their footing. Since then, they’ve stacked results, collecting six tournament titles and consistently placing near the top of loaded fields.
The defining moment, however, came at the EKL.
Behind Banning (-5), Drew Krystyn (-2), Brady Rapp (E) and Robbie St. Peter (+2), the Mustangs not only rallied to defend their league title, but did so in record fashion. Even more impressive was the depth behind that score — multiple players outside the top four posted rounds capable of contributing to the historic total.
“I noticed that we were all going low that day,” Hedlund said. “Once we had Brady, Drew and Rowan all in at -7 combined, we knew we were going to be close. We had two guys that day that if they were the fourth score, we would have broken it either way.”
That kind of depth has separated Blue Valley North all season.
Led by defending state champion Brady Rapp and fellow all-state returner Drew Krystyn — both averaging 72.4 — the Mustangs have built a lineup that extends well beyond its top two. Juniors like Banning and St. Peter have elevated their play, while freshmen James Nelson and Landon Schreiber have made immediate impacts, both averaging in the mid-70s.
In total, 19 players have posted rounds in the 70s this season, with eight averaging in that range — giving Hedlund a roster where competition doesn’t just come from opponents, but from within.
“It has been hard trying to put the right mix of guys out there,” Hedlund said. “There are always a couple guys not in that top six that are more than capable of playing and scoring well.”
Blue Valley North junior Rowan Banning tied a school record for the best score in a round earlier this year with a 5-under 66.
Banning’s record-tying round may have caught attention across the state, but inside the program, it was more validation than surprise. The Missouri S&T commit has steadily developed into a key piece of the lineup.
“When he gets going and has that confidence, he can compete with the best of them,” Hedlund said. “To the outside world it may have been unexpected, but to us, not as much.”
While Banning provided the headline moment, Krystyn and Rapp continue to deliver steady production. Krystyn recently captured medalist honors at the Topeka Country Club Invitational on April 27, winning a playoff after tying for first at 2-under, while Rapp added a third-place finish.
Both have remained consistent in some of the toughest fields in Class 6A.
“Brady and Drew are models of consistency,” Hedlund said. “Brady has been great this year, he always has that desire to win individually but so far that has not been the case, but we also face some exceptional competition with almost every tournament we play in we have the top six golfers in 6A competing with us. Brady is a returning first team all-state 6A performer and is poised to repeat that again this year. Drew had a hiccup at the start of the year in the windy Mission Hills tournament but since then he has been on fire, and he is coming off his first win of the season at the Topeka CC Invitational where he won a two-hole playoff. Drew is also a returning first team all-state 6A performer and is also poised to repeat there as well.
“Even with the competition that we face they both have three top five finishes and Their performance day in a day out is so great to watch, the shots that they are both able to hit and the way that they can defeat a golf course even in the toughest conditions is something that I love being able to be a spectator to their individual greatness. I feel like their games are right where they need to be coming down the final stretch of the season and their high school careers.”
With the postseason approaching, the Mustangs remain focused on the bigger picture. Last year’s state runner-up finish still lingers — not as a disappointment, but as fuel.
“Our guys are very motivated, especially those who were sitting on the 18th green last year watching another team take home the title,” Hedlund said.
OTHER GOLF STANDOUTS
Baldwin earned the first tournament win in program history to begin its season.
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Baldwin won the program’s first-ever tournament early this season as the Bulldogs won the Burlington Invitational on April 7 at Rock Creek Country Club and have since added another tournament win to their resume. Wyatt Johnson has led the Bulldogs with a pair of third-place finishes on the year. Jett Good, Maddox Madl and Jesse Wadel have also recorded top 10 finishes under head coach Mackenzie Ellis.
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Fort Scott’s Reece Roberts opened his season with a tournament win in Joplin (Mo.) Roberts shot an even 72 to win medalist honors after going to two playoff holes with two Rockhurst (Mo.) golfers. Since that time, Roberts has recorded two more individuals wins. He won the Fort Scott Invitational with another even-72, but followed that up with a 3-under 69 on April 30 to win the Labette County Invitational at the Oswego Golf Course.