By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
By her own lofty standards, Seaman senior golf star Lois Deeter didn't have one of her better days in Monday's City Girls Golf Championship at Western Hills.
But with her second straight city individual title on the line, Deeter played her best hole of the day in a sudden death playoff with Washburn Rural junior Raegan Petersen, carding a birdie on the playoff hole to claim the title after both Deeter and Petersen shot identical 81s to force sudden death.
Seaman senior Lois Deeter (left) exchanges congratulations with Washburn Rural junior Raegan Petersen after Deeter won her second straight city title in a sudden death playoff with Petersen. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural's golf team poses for a team picture after winning its 10th straight city team title as well as the Topeka West Invitational crown Monday at Western Hills. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Deeter came within a few feet of driving the 288-yard No. 1 playoff hole, hit perhaps her best approach shot of the day to within a few feet and canned the short putt for her only birdie of the day to win the playoff over Petersen, who parred the hole.
"It's just one of those things where it's like, 'OK, let's make these shots the best shots of the day,' and I just really focused in on muscle memory and said, 'Let's just go do it,' '' Deeter said.
"I probably should have stuck with that the whole day.''
Deeter said she was relaxed for the playoff after Petersen's 81 was one of the last scores to be posted.
"I was, actually,'' Deeter said. "I got up there and just went and did my thing and got a birdie.''
While she would have loved to have won the city title, Petersen was proud of her runnerup finish.
"When you lose to a girl like Lois on a birdie, I'm just glad that I got there and I battled through some tougher conditions than I expected,'' Petersen said.
"She stepped up today and she's very capable of that,'' Washburn Rural coach Jared Goehring said of Petersen. "I couldn't be more proud of her as I am with all the girls, but Raegan stepped up and did her job and kind of snuck up on people there at the end and got into that sudden death playoff with Lois. She did a great job as far as competing, keeping her focus on a long day.''
And despite the playoff loss Petersen and the Junior Blues had plenty to celebrate Monday, with Washburn Rural winning its 10th straight city team championship by a 24-stroke margin over Seaman (335-359) while shooting its lowest four-person score of the season and winning its first team championship of 2022.
Actually, Rural won a pair of titles on Monday, with the Junior Blues also winning the championship in the 13-school Topeka West Invitational, which was help in conjunction with the city meet, by a 335-340 margin over Blue Valley West.
"It feels good,'' Goehring said. "These girls have been battling all year. We've been playing some tough competition on tough golf courses for a reason and I thought the girls came out here today, handled the conditions, handled the (100-degree) heat to the best of our ability and had five scores in the 80s and five in the top 10. It was a great day for us.''
Rural senior Avery Scott finished third in the city meet with an 82 while the Junior Blues also got a fifth-place finish from sophomore Reece Randall (85), an eighth-place showing from senior Mallory Nelson (87) and a ninth from sophomore Natalie Peterson (88).
Seaman sophomore Jaycee Zimmerman placed fourth in the city tournament with an 85 while Hayden freshman Izzy Glotzbach finished sixth with an 86 and Topeka High junior Avery Zimmerman was seventh, also with an 86. Hayden junior Avery Grunert rounded out the top 10 with a 90.
Blue Valley Southwest senior Hillary Currier won the Topeka West Invitational title by 10 shots with a 70.
CITY TOURNAMENT
At Western Hills
Team scores
Seaman 335, Seaman 359, Hayden 365, Shawnee Heights 431, Topeka High 477, Topeka West 530.
Individual results
1. Lois Deeter, Seaman, 81 (won playoff); 2. Raegan Petersen, Washburn Rural, 81; 3. Avery Scott, Washburn Rural, 82; 4. Jaycee Zimmerman, Seaman, 85 (won scorecard playoff); 5. Reece Randall, Washburn Rural; 85; 6. Izzy Glotzbach, Hayden, 86 (won scorecard playoff); 7. Avery Zimmerman, Topeka High, 86; 8. Mallory Nelson, Washburn Rural, 87; 9. Natalie Peterson, Washburn Rural, 88; 10. Avery Grunert, Hayden, 90.
TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL
At Western Hills
Team scores
Washburn Rural 335, Blue Valley West 340, Seaman 359, Hayden 365, Blue Valley Southwest 373, Blue Valley Northwest 373, Blue Valley 375, Emporia 376, Shawnee Heights 431, Topeka High 477, Topeka West 530.
Individual results
1. Hillary Currier, Blue Valley Southwest, 70; 2. Reagan Kauth, Blue Valley Northwest, 80; 3. Olivia Eckert, Emporia, 81 (won scorecard playoff); 4. Lois Deeter, Seama, 81 (won scorecard playoff); 5. Raegan Petersen, Washburn Rural 81; 6. Avery Scott, Washburn Rural, 82; 7. Jackie Lee, Blue Valley Northwest, 83 (won scorecard playoff), 8.Jenny Kim, Blue Valley West, 83; 9. Mia Rodriguez, Blue Valley West, 84 (won scorecard playoff); 10. Hadley Neese, Blue Valley, 84.
