WICHITA — Great Bend’s Allison Neeland earned a top five finish with a 90 that tied Mill Valley’s Isabella Hadden for fourth place in the Class 5A girls state golf championship at Crestview Country Club’s north course. Neeland lost a two-hole playoff to place fifth.
“Placing in the top five in the Class 5A state tournament is something that Allison can take a lot of pride in,” said Great Bend coach Travis McAtee. “The combination of the length of the golf course and the windy conditions really produced higher scores than normal. We’re very proud of how Allison handled the day.”
Neeland started on the back nine and made five pars, including three in a row, to shoot 41 on her first nine.
“Considering the difficulty of the golf course and the very windy conditions, this got her off to a very good start,” McAtee said. “The golf course was set up to play around 5,600 yards, about 800 yards longer than a typical high school girls tournament.”
Neeland encountered some difficult playing conditions on the back nine.
“Even though the second nine played more difficult for her, she kept battling throughout the nine holes,” McAtee said. “She managed to get in with a 49 and a total of 90 on the par 72 course.”
Placing fifth was a good reward for her work.
“She’s really improved her game over the last couple years and I’m glad that she was able to reap the rewards of that in her final year as a GBHS golfer,” McAtee said. “She finishes her senior season as an All-WAC, All-Region, and All-State player. She earned the distinction of having her name added to the GBHS girls golf record board as well.”
Wichita Kapaun-Mt. Carmel defended its championship (365) by 12 strokes over rival St. Thomas Aquinas (377). Two-time state runner-up Emma Whitaker of Kapaun-Mt. Carmel shot 78 to win medalist honors by two strokes over Caroline Klemp of Lenexa St. James Academy. Klemp defeated Whitaker in a playoff last year for medalist honors. The Crusaders have captured the last four state titles after breaking a six-year state title streak by St. Thomas Aquinas.
CLASS 5A
At Wichita
Crestview CC North, par 72
TEAM SCORES—1—Kapaun-Mt, Carmel, 365 2—St. Thomas Aquinas, 377; 3—Lenexa St. James, 382; 4—Mill Valley, 400; 5—Andover, 418; 6—Shawnee Heights, 418; 7—Wichita Carroll, 436; 8—Maize High, 441; 9—Liberal, 459; 10—Salina Central, 466; 11—Topeka Seaman 509
TOP 20 MEDALISTS—1—Emma Whitaker, KMC, 78; 2—Caroline Klemp, St James, 80; 3—Tatum King, Aquinas, 84; 4—Isabella Hadden, Mill Valley, 90 (won playoff); 5—Allison Neeland, Great Bend, 90; 6—Ellie Cobb, Salina Central, 91 (won playoff); 7—Baylee Bloom, Andover, 91; 8—Maggie King, Aquinas, 92; 9—Allison Comer, St. James, 93; 10—Vivian Brown, KMC, 94 (won playoff)
11—Analisa Bridge, Salina South, 94; Erin Johnston, KMC, 94; 13—Sydney Lashley, Carroll, 96; Kim Pham, Carroll, 96; 15—Meg Green, Mill Valley, 98; 16—Maggie Duncan, KMC, 99; Sarah Lawson, Mill Valley, 99; Elise Handley, Aquinas, 99; Corey Mein, Liberal, 99; 20—Jamie Van Wick, Pittsburg, 100
