By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Monday's Class 2A boys golf sub-state at Western Hills came down to a one-hole playoff. Cair Paravel senior Caleb Cleverdon knew his putt was do-or-die. His opponent’s ball sat just inches from the hole.
Cair Paravel Latin golf finished second in Monday's Class 2A regional, earning a team berth for the state tournament in Winfield. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
“I had about a 12 to 15-feet for birdie and then (Salina Sacred Heart’s Jake Koksal) hit a nice chip to about a foot, kind of put the pressure on a little bit,'' Cleverdon said. "It put me in a must-make situation for sure.
"I liked my line. I liked my speed. It went dead center, but it hit the plastic part at the back of the hole and popped up just on the left edge.”
Cair Paravel Latin senior Caleb Cleverdon finished second with a 71 in Monday's Class 2A regional, leading the Lions to a runnerup team berth for the state tournament in Winfield. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Koksal edged out Cleverdon for the sub-state championship on the playoff hole after each shot a 1-over-par 71 for the day. Cleverdon said he wasn’t bothered by the pressure of the do-or-die playoff.
“It’s a unique situation. In a regular round, it’s never sudden death. So, it was kind of fun,” the Cair Paravel senior said. “I’m happy to have had the opportunity.”
Cleverdon’s second-place individual finish helped lead the Lions to qualify for state as a team for the fourth straight season with a runnerup finish.
Rossville senior Jack Donovan finished third in Monday's Class 2A sub-state with a 76, qualfying for the state tournament in Winfield. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Rossville senior Jack Donovan overcame a rough start to finish third with a 6-over-par 76. A couple of hours earlier, you probably couldn’t have convinced him that was possible.
“The way I started off, I didn’t even know if I was gonna make the cut after my front nine,” said Donovan, who has finished in the top 20 at state each of the past three seasons. “I was seven over on the front nine and finished six over. So, I’m glad I finished strong.”
Cleverdon and Donovan tied for sixth at state as juniors and will see each other again at Quail Ridge Golf Course in Winfield, the site of the 2A state championship, May 26 and 27.
Donovan plans to play golf at Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Neb. next year. Having developed a reputation as a sharpshooter on the basketball court as well as the golf course, Donovan said he will try to keep from putting pressure on himself in his final round representing Rossville High School.
“I found in basketball, if I try and score too much, I usually end up not scoring very much,'' Donovan said. I found that golf is kind of like basketball in that you have to just let the game come to you. I was pretty nervous at the start today and after that I just decided to go out there and not really have any expectations and just go hit the next shot and have a positive attitude.
“I (tend to) put a lot of pressure on myself and once I loosen up, I start playing a lot better. For state, I’m going to try to go into it with no expectations, just try to play as good as I can and not think too much about stuff.”
Joining Donovan as an individual qualifying for state was Rossville sophomore Austin Dohrman, who shot an 86.
Cair Paravel will send all six members of its varsity team to the state championship at Winfield. The Lions finished Monday with a team score of 338, 23 strokes behind Sacred Heart, arguably the most dominant golf powerhouse in the state. The Knights have won the last 10 state titles in Class 2A.
Cair Paravel sophomore Chase Hastert finished tied for fourth with a 78.
“I started off really good, went birdie, birdie, then kind of felt like I got a little too confident out there. But overall, I think I played pretty solid,” Hastert said. “It was windy and very wet out there. I had a couple of drives that just plugged in the fairway. (Water) was definitely a factor on the greens, too. They were really wet and slow to start and then they started speeding up.”
Cleverdon was part of the Cair Paravel team that placed third at state in 2024 and fourth in 2025.
Coach Ryan Nelson believes his team has a chance to place again this year and sees Cleverdon as a contender for the individual title.
“Caleb has just gotten better and better every single year,” Nelson said. “He’s right there. If he keeps playing the way he’s playing right now, he could absolutely win it.”
CLASS 2A SUB-STATE
At Western Hills Golf Course
Team scores
Sacred Heart 315, Cair Paravel 338, St. Marys 370, Rossville 372, Washington County 381, Smith Center 385, Lyndon 419, Horton 433, Maur Hill 444, Atchison County 464, Valley Heights 479.
Individual results
1. (tie) Koksal, Sacred Heart, 71; Cleverdon, Cair Paravel, 71; 3. Donovan, Rossville, 76; 4. (tie) Hastert, Cair Paravel, 78; Tuttle, Sacred Heart, 78; 6. Isch, Lyndon, 80; 7. Matteucci, Sacred Heart, 82; 8. Marrs, Sacred Heart, 84; 9. (tie) Hammersmith, Horton, 86; Dohrman, Rossville, 86.
Other Cair Paravel – L. Budden 91, B. Budden 98, Varney 109, Ellis, 112.
Other Rossville – Dick 100, Wood 110, Feldhausen 116.
