AVCTL crowns 2018 girls golf league champions
Maize, Andover and Andale haven taken the next step toward a state championship.
The Eagles, Trojans and Indians won AVCTL league championships and will carry that momentum into their respective regional tournaments next week.
Maize won the AVCTL I title by 31 strokes over Hutchinson with a 369 team score and posted a pair of top five individual scores at Carey Park.
Coach Ben Harlow said Eagles senior Riley Hunter led them Monday with a 14-over 85. She finished tied for second with Hutchinson’s Meredith Kinney and behind Derby senior Emma Johnson, who won at 10-over 81.
“She’s a girl who has been on varsity for four years, and she’s been steadily improving each and every year,” Harlow said of Hunter.
Maize sophomore Lexie Ridder finished behind Hunter and Kinney in fourth at 86 and sophomore Reina Cline tied for sixth with a 98. Sophomore Brooklyn Blasdel tied for 10th with a 100.
“(Lexie) is a girl with a lot of potential and works really hard,” Harlow said.
Andover took the AVCTL II title with a 348-stroke performance at Hesston Golf Course on Tuesday. The Trojans took down Maize South, who finished with a 360 team score.
Trojan sophomore Alivia Nguyen was crowned the league champion with a 12-over, 83 in the win, but she wasn’t the only Andover golfer who showed out.
Fellow sophomores Shauna Lee came runner-up with a 13-over, 84. Tiffany Chan came fifth at 18-over, 89. And junior Kelsey Hawley finished eighth at 21-over, 92.
Coach Ryan Harshaw said that promising sophomore class has coming along since last year’s 2017 state tournament. They will be called upon to perform over the next two weeks.
“We put a lot of emphasis on what we call, ‘The big three tournaments,’ including our league championship, regionals and state,” he said. “And it was good to get the first leg.”
Down the road at Cherry Oaks, Andale showed its dominance in the Wichita area. The Indians took the AVCTL IV championship, winning by 46 strokes over Augusta with a team score of 336.
Junior Morgan Brasser had one of the best days of any female high school golfer in Wichita. She won the individual title with a 2-under 70. But she wasn’t alone toward the top of the leader board.
Andale senior Jacy Anderson finished second at 4-over 76. And Jaela Albers tied for third with an 84.
The Indians are coming off a runner-up finish in Class 4A last season and will be looking to do one spot better in 2018.
Maize finished seventh in Class 5A last year, and with a lot of added depth, the Eagles are looking to do much better in two weeks.
“We will use this as momentum going into our regional out in Hays,” Harlow said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2018 at 12:11 PM.