WICHITA – The proverbial cupboard wasn’t bare as St. James Academy set out to defend its Class 5A boys golf championship this spring.
 
Not with returning state medalists Josh Fratzel and Darren Powell, and a top-25 state finisher in Joey Governal.
 
But for Thunder first-year head coach Justin Snell, who moved over from his assistant’s role in a position swap with Tom Radke, the restocking wasn’t totally conventional.
 
“It was definitely a season-long deal,” Snell said after St. James collected its second consecutive 5A title on May 27 at Tallgrass Golf Club. “We knew we weren’t going to be the same team that we were last year.
 
“We had some kids who worked just as hard as the kids did last year, and also some kids who had been part of our program for multiple years, so they knew what took it took to get back here and worked their tails off to get the same thing done again.”
 

After posting a two-day, state tournament-record scoring total to win by 29 shots last year, St. James fought off Kapaun Mt. Carmel by four shots and Bishop Carroll by six to win the third team championship in program history. The Thunder shot a 36-hole team total of 606 – 38-over par – on Tallgrass’ par-71 layout.
 
Fratzel, an individual state runner-up last year at Emporia Municipal, led St. James again, tying for fourth with a two-day total of 5-over 147. Governal finished seventh at 149 and Powell earned a share of 18^th at 155.
 
Another Thunder golfer who tied for 18^th was senior John Koenings, who tried out for the golf team for the first time this year and capped his lone season with 5A individual and team medals.
 
“Big shout-out to John Koenings,” Fratzel said as his teammates posed for pictures with their state trophy. “After his first day of tryouts, coaches were completely planning on cutting him. He didn’t have a great day, but had a good second day and the coaches saw some potential in him.”
 
Koenings’ tryout and the start of his season were delayed by a broken wrist he sustained shortly before the spring season. Snell acknowledged Koenings, who played baseball prior to this season, was behind the 8-ball.
 
“He’s a senior who’s played other sports,” Snell said. “It’s really hard to do this as a senior for your first time. We gave him two days of tryouts like everybody else and he played better on the second day.
 
“He’s just ascended throughout the season, which is a testament to his hard work and what he’s done with this group and for this group. It’s a special story.”
 

Koenings cracked the Thunder lineup for the first time at the Leavenworth Invitational, shooting an 82. He stayed consistent throughout the spring, firing a 77 in the 5A regional at Topeka’s Shawnee Country Club and a 78 a few weeks earlier in the 5A state preview at Tallgrass, where St. James established itself as a potential repeat champion.
 
The Thunder won the 14-team tournament that day with a four-man score of 312, two shots ahead of Maize South and Carroll.
 
“It helped us a little bit just getting some of the knowledge of the course,” Snell said of the April 27 tournament. “We saw a lot of what not to do and that helped us a lot.”
 
It also marked the second victory in a five-tournament winning streak by St. James to close out the season. The Thunder won the Blue Valley Tiger Invitational before edging Blue Valley Southwest by one shot for the regional crown.
 

 
While Fratzel expected a close battle with the likes of Kapaun and Carroll at state, he also believed the Thunder would again prevail.
 
“I think this one means a lot more to me than last year,” Fratzel said. “I think last year there was an expectation for us. We expected to win again this year, but last year it just felt it was our job to send a message to people and win by a lot.
 
“This one means more because it was a dogfight competing with Carroll and Kapaun – two great teams that were stacked one through six. It was a real close battle coming into today and to squeak out a close battle means so much.”
 
St. James started the final round in second, two shots behind Kapaun and one clear of Carroll after an opening-round 302. While the Thunder didn’t improve in the second round, its 304 was the best of the remaining six teams.
 
Governal, who finished one shot out of an individual medal spot in the 2025 tournament, posted St. James’ low second-day score, a 1-over 72. Fratzel carded a 74, Powell shot 78 and Koenings had an 80.
 
Junior Joe Dempsie, who shot back-to-back 82s, and senior Matthew Davis (89-82) gave St. James solid backing had it needed it.
 
Kapaun, which returned to state as a team qualifier after missing the 2025 tournament, got top-10 finishes from sophomore Ryker Dondlinger and freshman Henry Mies. Freshman Kaden Leivian and senior Max Farber posted top-10s for Carroll.
 
Snell, who coached St. James to its first girls state basketball title in 5A in March, was able to pose with another championship team at the tournament’s conclusion on Tallgrass’ No. 1 tee box. He said he noticed a special chemistry developing throughout the golf season.
 
“We knew this team was good enough,” Snell said. “We just had to put two days together and we were fortunately able to do that. When you’re anchored by a player like Josh Fratzel, you know you’re going to be in the running somewhere.
 
“The boys just worked super hard. They’re really connected and wanted to play hard for each other.”
 

CLASS 5A STATE GOLF
 
At Tallgrass Golf Club, Wichita
 
TEAM SCORES
 
St. James Academy 606, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 610, Bishop Carroll 612, Eisenhower 625, Maize South 632, Hays 646.