Kansas high school boys golf preview: 25 of the top golfers in the Wichita area
Before the start of the week, only one of six players in the varsity lineup of the Kapaun Mt. Carmel boys golf team had any high school tournament experience.
Because last season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, three sophomores were still waiting to show what they could do for the Crusaders. Throw in two of the best incoming freshmen in the state and Kapaun, despite its lack of experience, could very well be the favorite to win the Class 5A team championship this season.
Kapaun certainly looked the part on Monday when it won the season-opening Bishop Carroll Invitational with a team score of 306 strokes at Rolling Hills Country Club.
“We have what could end up being a very, very special group,” Kapaun coach Corey Novascone said. “We’re very, very talented, but very, very young. It was good for us to get that first win under our belt and get those first tournament jitters out of the way.
“The good thing for us is that these guys have been playing high-level junior tournaments their whole lives. So they plenty have experience, just not a lot of high school experience.”
Senior Brent Reintjes is currently the lone veteran in the starting lineup, although that could change with a handful of other seniors more than capable of breaking through. But when you have six golfers who consistently break 80, cracking Kapaun’s varsity lineup is harder than medaling at most tournaments.
The underclassmen offered a glimpse of their potential on Monday when freshman Asher Whitaker (74, first), sophomore Quaid Oliver (76, third), sophomore Conner Geist (78, eighth) and Noah Pirtle (78, eighth) all finished in the top-10. Sophomore Gabe Grier (86) gave Kapaun all six of its golfers in the top 20.
“Our top four on JV would probably be pretty high on a lot of varsity teams,” Novascone said. “We’re super deep this year and just really talented from top to bottom. There’s a lot of competition in practice. Our practices can get intense, but these kids all like each other so it’s just good, friendly competition.”
Kapaun will be looking for its first team state title since the Crusaders completed a four-peat with 5A titles from 2012-15.
“The key with this group is just going to be getting those kids ready to play at the best of their ability,” Novascone said. “But we try not to look too far down the road. Right now we’re just focused on our short-term goals and once we reach those, then we can start looking ahead.”
With plenty of Kapaun representation, here are 25 of the area’s top boys golfers to watch for this spring season:
25 of the top Wichita-area players
Note: Players are sorted in alphabetical order.
1. Ty Adkins, Hutchinson sophomore
2. Taben Armstrong, Maize South junior
3. Conner Geist, Kapaun Mt. Carmel sophomore
4. Jacob George, Winfield senior
5. Deitrek Gill, Wellington junior
6. Austin Goodrum, Andover Central senior
7. Colby Hays, Bishop Carroll sophomore
8. Noah Holtzman, Bishop Carroll sophomore
9. Jon Hoover, Berean Academy senior
10. Kyle Kasitz, Maize South junior
11. Layton Love, Maize South junior
12. Harrison Middleton, Cheney junior
13. Grayson Murphy, Bishop Carroll senior
14. Quaid Oliver, Kapaun Mt. Carmel sophomore
15. Noah Pirtle, Kapaun Mt. Carmel freshman
16. Brent Reintjes, Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior
17. Blake Saffell, Wellington senior
18. Luke Scheufler, Trinity Academy senior
19. Jack Stuckey, Bishop Carroll junior
20. Zach Surface, Sterling junior
21. Trent Sutherland, Arkansas City senior
22. Zach Vandervoort, Pratt junior
23. Cooper Ward, Andover Central senior
24. Asher Whitaker, Kapaun Mt. Carmel freshman
25. Will Yates, Buhler senior
City League team previews
Bishop Carroll: Noah Holtzman, so.; Grayson Murphy, sr.; Jack Stuckey, jr.; Christian Barrientos, sr.; James Brennan, jr.; Luke Shelton, so.; Colby Hays, so.; Pearce Lashly, so.
East: Cameron Connolly, jr.; Jamal Sutton, so.
Heights: Kaden Claassen, jr.; Evan Jensen, sr.
Kapaun Mt. Carmel: Brent Reintjes, sr.; Asher Whitaker, fr.; Conner Geist, so.; Gabe Grier, so.; Quade Oliver, so.; Noah Pirtle, fr.
North: Jesus Arguello, jr.; Jack Hopping, so.; Brad Kaps, sr.; Josh Fleming, jr.; Taye Lawrie, sr.; Daniel Paredes, sr.
Northwest: Braydon Verbeck, sr.; Andy Fisher, sr.
Southeast: Hendrix Lovett, sr.; Ricky Ochoa, sr.; Charles Hamill, sr.; Miguel Kelly, sr.
West: Andrew Irvin, sr.; Luis Moreno, sr.; Clay Godwin, sr.
Other area team previews
Andale-Garden Plain: Karson Kuepker, sr.
Andover: James Hill, jr.; Vincent Chan, jr.
Andover Central: Austin Goodrum, sr.; Cooper Ward, sr.; Cal Schultz, fr.
Arkansas City: Trent Sutherland, sr.
Augusta: Chadd Brown, jr.; Chance Kohls, jr.; Caden Pressnell, jr.; Josh Manahan, sr.; Dylen Slusser, so.
Berean Academy: Jon Hoover, sr.; Luke Stucky, sr.; A.J. Templin, sr.; Braeden Templin, so.; Grant Busenitz, sr.
Buhler: Will Yates, sr.; Preston Gover, sr.; Max Alexander, sr.; Tegan Tustian, sr.
Cheney: Harrison Middleton, jr.; Ethan Cokely, sr.; Keegan O’Shea, jr.; Owen Ast, jr.
Circle: Cort Ott, sr.; Breck Wiggins, sr.; Zebedee Shinkle, sr.; Lukas Rogers, sr.
Classical: Luke Buckingham, sr.; David Darrah, sr.; B. Buckingham, fr.
Clearwater: Caden Carlson, sr.; Christian Hastings, sr.; Austin Baumann, sr.
Collegiate: Nick Grabon, jr.; Luke Swan, sr.; Conner Gagnon, so.; Clay Gagnon, sr.; Byron Knight, jr.; Jack Herrman, sr.
Derby: Hayden Smith, sr.
Eisenhower: Emery Kaylor, jr.; Parker Steven, sr.; Carson Wright, fr.; Tyler Hardtafer, fr.
El Dorado: Tengis Battuul, sr.
Goddard: Jim Terry, so.; Jayden Miller, jr.; Logan Ashford, jr.; Jacob Spaun, jr.; Garren Morrison, so.
Halstead: Cameron Kohr, sr.; Spencer Johnson, so.; Connor Whitsitt, fr.
Hesston: Lucas Roth, sr.; Jace Regier, jr.; Mason Farmer, sr.
Hutchinson: Ty Adkins, so.; Brock Southern, sr.
Hutchinson Central Christian: Connor Langlais, sr.; Devin McConnell, sr.
Inman: Brock Sivils, sr.
Kingman: Nolan Roth, sr.
Lyons: Stone Starbuck, so.
Maize: Stu Jones, so.
Maize South: Layton Love, jr.; Kyle Kasitz, jr.; Taben Armstrong, jr.; Grant Waggoner, so.
McPherson: Gus Ruddle, jr.; Neill Raymond, sr.; Parker Van Campen, jr.; Trey Buckbee, jr.
Mulvane: Gerald Collier, sr.; Trent Moses, fr.; Chayton Pfannehstiel, fr.; Ian Moore, sr.; Rhyse Tallman, sr.; Kyle Jones, sr.
Newton: Caleb Koontz, jr.
Pratt: Zach Vandervoort, jr.; Cooper Greiner, jr.; Karter Hoeme, jr.; Tyler Reimer, jr.
Pretty Prairie: Lucas Detter, sr.; Landon Weide, jr.; Brett McLeland, jr.
Rose Hill: Zach Hoang, sr.
Sterling: Zach Surface, jr.; Lucas Gilmore, sr.; Wyatt Schmidt, sr.; Braxton Linden, so.; Caden Webb, sr.; Wyatt Beltz, jr.
Trinity Academy: Luke Scheufler, sr.; Kordell Webb, jr.
Valley Center: Mason Hamm, jr.; Caden Bastian, so.; Colby Byers, so.; Camden Waterson, so.
Wellington: Blake Saffell, sr.; Deitrek Gill, jr.; Jace Lawrence, sr.; Peyton Linker, sr.; Brett Wyckoff, jr.; Laken Smith, jr.; Caden Lawrence, jr.
Winfield: Jacob George, sr.; Gabe Hager, sr.
This story was originally published April 8, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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