By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the coming weeks TopSports.news will recognize Shawnee County's all-time best teams in 21 sports as part of our Best of the Best project. The project continues with girls golf and readers will have the opportunity to vote for teams in that sport through July 27, with the top teams in all categories announced in late July and August. To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, click on https://take.quiz-maker.com/poll4871448xAa4145c1-151 while email votes/nominations will be also accepted at
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It shouldn't be a big surprise that longtime state powers Washburn Rural and Hayden headline the list of contenders for TopSports.news' Best of the Best Top 10 in girls golf.
After all, the Junior Blues and Wildcats are the only Shawnee County schools to win state team championships in the sport, with both Washburn Rural and Hayden winning five titles apiece.
Washburn Rural won the Class 6A-5A girls golf state title in 2005, the Junior Blues' first of five state championships. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Hayden's girls golf team swept the Class 4A individual and team championships in 2008, with Lauren Falley taking individual honors and the Wildcats winning the team title by 18 strokes. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
But picking the top spot out of the state championship teams promises to be a much tougher task.
Washburn Rural won its first state championship in Class 6A-5A under Jeff Stromgren in 2005 while the Junior Blues have captured four 6A titles under current Rural coach Jared Goehring, including back-to-back titles in 2013 and '14 and in '16 and '17.
Abbey Weddle and Adin Stromgren finished second and third individually to pace Rural's '05 team to a two-stroke state victory over Manhattan.
Washburn Rural's girls golf team posted a 19-stroke vicory in the 2014 Class 6A state tournament, with five Junior Blues earning state medals. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Goehring won his first state title with a 14-stroke 6A win over Maize in '13, as the Junior Blues put three players in the top seven spots individually, and Rural repeated in '14, winning by a whopping 19-stroke margin (331-350) over Shawnee Mission East at Topeka Country Club as all of the Junior Blues' top four finished in the top eight and five Rural players finished in the top 14 spots.
Washburn Rural also posted back-to-back titles in '16 and '17, with individual champ Megan Lucas leading the Junior Blues to a 337-350 win over SM East in '16 and individual runnerup Abby Glynn pacing Rural to an eight-stroke win in '17.
Hayden has been a five-time champ in 4A, including back-to-back titles in '08 and '09 and in '17 and '18.
Denis Stanley coached the Wildcats to their first championship in '08 as individual champ Lauren Falley powered Hayden to an 18-stroke victory over Andover and Dan Key's Hayden team also won individual and team titles in '09, with individual champion Brooke LaRue powering the Wildcats to a huge 63-stroke win over Concordia.
Hayden won its fifth Class 4A girls state golf tournament in 2018, winning by 13 strokes. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Key's Wildcats won the '13 title by a 14-stroke margin over Goodland and went back-to-back in '17 and '18.
Individual champion Caroline Setter led Hayden to the '17 title and the Wildcats put three players in the top 10 in '18, led by fourth-place Setter.
Vote for your favorite team at https://take.quiz-maker.com/poll4871448xAa4145c1-151 while readers also have the option of writing in a candidate.
Vote as many times as you wish. Final selections will be based on reader vote as well as input from TSN contributors and current and past local sports media professionals.
Votes in girls golf will be accepted through July 27 before TSN publishes our Best of the Best lists in late July and August.
NEXT UP: Boys golf (ballot will be published on TopSports.news on Friday).
