By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls golf team put all of its top four in the top five individual places in Monday's Class 5A regional tournament at Cypress Ridge, winning the team championship by a 19-stroke margin while advancing to next Monday and Tuesday's 5A state tournament at Salina Municipal Golf Course.
"The main goal was accomplished, we won,'' Seaman coach Julie McLaughlin said. "We've still got things to work on. We've got a week left and we're going to work hard this week.''
Seaman junior Makenna Stuke posted a runnerup finish in Monday's Class 5A regional golf tournament, helping the Vikings win the team title by a 19-stroke margin. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Jaycee Zimmerman posted a third-place individual finish for the regional-champion Vikings on Monday at Cypress Ridge. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman junior Makenna Stuke finished second individually with an 89, a stroke behind De Soto sophomore McKenzie Laster, while senior Jaycee Zimmerman was third (93), sophomore Kaitlynn Frye fourth (95) and sophomore Chloe Schmidtlein fifth (97) as the Vikings won the team title by a 375-394 margin over De Soto.
"I'm really proud of our sophomores, they played well today,'' McLaughlin said. "It was a great day for them and we have four in the top five, so you can't argue with that.''
The Vikings also got a tie for 12th place from junior Molina Quintana and senior Anna McLaughlin, who carded 108s.
Stuke went to her final hole with a shot at the individual title and was pleased with her day.
"I felt good,'' Stuke said. "I was really confident going into today. It was pretty smooth sailing.''
Topeka West and Shawnee Heights both qualified a pair of individuals for state.
Topeka West senior Alex Baxter qualified for her second straight Class 5A state berth Monday at Cypress Ridge, tying for seventh place. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
West senior Alex Baxter and Shawnee Heights senior Lyla Blair led the local individual qualifiers with a tie for seventh place (101), while Heights sophomore Lauryn Valdivia tied for 12th (108) and West junior Berlyn Kolean advanced with a 19th-place finish (119).
Julie McLaughlin said the goal for next week will be for Seaman to be one of the top six 5A teams to advance to Tuesday's final day of the state event.
"If we can put it all together, we can do it,'' McLaughlin said. "I firmly believe that we can get four really good scores out of these girls. We've just got to dial in and stay focused. That will be what we're working on this week.''
"I think we're starting to get better as a team together and I think we have a chance as a team to make it to Day 2,'' Stuke said.
CLASS 5A REGIONAL
At Cypress Ridge
Team scores
Seaman 375, De Soto 394, Basehor-Linwood 451, Shawnee Heights 489, Piper 489.
Individual results
1. McKenzie Laster, De Soto, 89; 2. Makenna Stuke, Seaman, 90; 3 Jaycee Zimmerman, Seaman, 93; 4. Kaitlynn Frye, Seaman, 95; 5. Chloe Schmidtlein, Seaman, 97; 6. Zella Kiewiet, De Soto, 100; 7. (tie) Alex Baxter, Topeka West; Alli Fandre, DeSoto, and Lyla Blair, Shawnee Heights, 101; 10. (tie) Gracyn Brock, De Soto, and Aubrey Ziolo, Basehor-Linwood, 104.
Individual state qualifiers -- Alex Baxter, Topeka West; Lyla Blair, Shawnee Heights; Lauryn Valdivia, Shawnee Heights; Allyson McKinney, Piper; Berlyn Kolean, Topeka West.
Other Seaman -- 12. (tie) Molina Quintana, and Anna McLaughlin, 108.
Other Shawnee Heights -- 12. (tie) Lauryn Valdivia, 108; 25. Makenna Bryant, 126; 33. Mia Mattox, 154; 34. Analeigh Thomas, 155; 36. Elsie Willmann, 163.
Other Topeka West -- 19. Berlyn Kolean, 119; 28. (tie) Lily Bowen, 131.
