Kansas high school golf: Andover wins tightly contested Wichita regional
The Andover Central boys golf team entered this week with the third-best scoring average in Class 5A.
And on Tuesday at their regional tournament at Rolling Hills Country Club, the Jaguars finished with a score of 317 strokes that would have easily qualified for the state tournament at any other regional — but not the one they were in. They finished one stroke behind both Goddard Eisenhower and Bishop Carroll for the final team qualifying spot.
On the right day, Andover Central was certainly potent enough to contend for a trophy at next week’s state tournament. Instead, the Jaguars will have to settle for sending three individuals: Colt Farrow, Ethan Balke and Xayden Garcia.
“It’s frustrating because I feel like the goal every year should be to have the best golfers at the state tournament,” Andover Central coach Doug Snyder said. “Changes are coming and I think we’re going to try to do that next year, but that’s not going to do any good for the kids this year. We felt like we had a real chance, but it is what it is, and we’ve just got to play a little better.”
Andover snagged the highly-contested team crown with the winning score of 310, highlighted by senior Grant Hatzenbuehler taking home individual medalist honors with a 1-under score of 71 in breezy conditions. The Trojans featured two others in the top-10 in juniors Seth Benjamin and Brody Fox, who both tied for sixth at 77, while other team members included senior Luke James (85), senior Luke Yowell (88) and junior Tatum Ford (94).
“You feel great anytime you can go into a regional like that and come out victorious,” Andover coach Ryan Harshaw said. “I’m really proud of Grant for battling through some tough conditions today. He just stayed patient and stuck with his game plan and executed one shot at a time.”
Coaches in contention for team qualifying spent much of Tuesday refreshing their phone’s web browsers to track the team scores with minute-by-minute updates.
Carroll coach Mark Berger remembers one instance when his wife inquired how the tournament was going for the team. When he began typing a reply, Carroll sat in fourth place. By the time he was about to push send, Carroll had moved up to second place — all by the total of one stroke.
“Between us, Andover Central and Eisenhower, we were bouncing back and forth all day long,” Berger said. “It’s been this way for years and years, it seems like now. There’s always one Wichita regional that is stacked. I would not be surprised at all if all three (qualifying) teams from here end up in the final six at state and I would not be surprised if two of us walk away with a trophy.”
While Eisenhower entered the tournament behind Andover Central in scoring average, the Tigers liked their odds because of the depth in their lineup. All six players are capable of contending on any given day.
That proved true on Tuesday with all six Eisenhower players finishing in the top-20: junior Luke Springer (72, second), senior Braden Taylor (80, ninth), junior Nic Tonnessen (82, 16th), junior Tyler Charles (82, 16th), senior Easton Kaylor (83, 19th) and junior Jackson Loomis (83, 19th).
Key moments for Eisenhower late in the tournament included a birdie by Taylor on No. 17, while Springer executed an up-and-down from the bunker on the 18th for a par.
“We knew what to expect with so many great teams in the field and we knew every shot counts,” Eisenhower coach John Loomis said. “I think our depth takes some of the pressure off guys because they know any of our top-6 could be a counting score.”
Carroll was led by four in the top-10 with junior Max Farber (75, fifth), sophomore Cohen Hageman (79, eighth), senior Drew Ricke (81, 10th) and sophomore Braeden Masterson (81, 10th). Other team members included senior Drew Mercer (84) and senior Landon Timmermeyer (90).
Other area individual qualifiers included Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior Carson Bachrodt (73, third), Goddard freshman Cohen Museousky (81, 10th) and Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior Jason Brokaw (81, 10th).
Wichita-area state qualifiers to Kansas high school boys golf
Class 6A Dodge City
Maize senior Kobey Jackson won medalist honors at Mariah Hills shooting a 2-under score of 69, while leading the Eagles to a team spot at the state tournament with a runner-up finish to Dodge City. The other Maize golfers included senior Mason Teague (82, ninth), senior Brock McKay (85, 12th), sophomore Chayse Sullivan (86, 15th), sophomore Preston Merchant (92) and sophomore Adrian Sanchez (97).
Other individual state qualifiers from the area included East junior Talen Nasone (74, fourth), East senior Anderson Tung (85, 12th) and North sophomore Jhett Haberly (87, 17th).
Class 6A Washburn Rural
Individual state qualifiers from the area at the regional played at Topeka Country Club included Southeast senior Logan Lam (79, seventh), Derby senior Michael Willey (81, 13th) and Southeast senior Jacob Brannon (85, 16th).
Class 5A Maize South
Maize South dominated the regional hosted on its home course at Auburn Hills, as the Mavericks won the team title by 55 strokes with a score of 320. Senior Laken Matthews won medalist honors with a 3-over score of 75, while Maize South produced six of the top-7 scores with freshman Conrad Parkhurst (81, third), sophomore Koen Ewertz (82, fourth), junior Cooper Bishop (82, fourth), junior Joe Binger (83, sixth) and senior Colten Hoover (84, seventh).
Other area individual state qualifiers included the Hutchinson duo of senior Mitchell Rice (80, second) and sophomore Alex Haas (90, 14th).
Class 4A Circle
Led by the top-3 scores in the tournament, Circle won a regional team title on its home course at Willowbend with a score of 304. The Thunderbirds swept the top three individual honors with junior Wyatt Sharp (73, first), senior Logan Martin (74, second) and junior Anderson Helmer (75, third). Other team members included junior Kolton Parrish (82, ninth), sophomore Kyson Smith (102) and freshman Lawson Waldmeier (104).
Andale finished runner-up in the team standings with a score of 321, as all six golfers placed in the top-20: senior Jackson Bell (75, third), sophomore Cavan Schueller (80, sixth), junior Sam Kuepker (82, ninth), senior Ryan Brasser (84, 14th), freshman Brooks Dyer (85, 16th) and senior Tyler Hinton (86, 17th).
Wellington edged Augusta by 14 strokes to snag the third and final team qualifying slot. The Crusaders featured junior Ethan Brungardt (83, 12th), senior Owen Farley (83, 12th), sophomore Boston Lawrence (84, 14th), senior Colten Clift (88), senior Derek Rausch (90) and sophomore Cam Rosenberg (96).
Other area individual qualifiers included Winfield senior Drew Graham (79, fifth), Augusta sophomore Reid Shelite (79, fifth), Augusta freshman Beckham Stoops (81, eighth) and Mulvane senior Dylan Paul (82, ninth).
Class 4A McPherson
Buhler edged Concordia by 11 strokes to win the regional team title at Turkey Creek with a team score of 321. The Crusaders were led by sophomore Zach Chance (72, first), senior Drew DeMeyer (79, sixth), junior Isaiah Heredia (85, 11th), sophomore Nick Chance (85, 11th), senior James Dingler (85, 11th) and senior Jace Heimerman (89, 20th).
Other individual qualifiers from the area featured the McPherson duo of sophomore Cole Cooper (76, fourth) and junior Paxton Ingels (85, 11th).
Class 3A Kingman
Led by four finishers in the top-10, Cheney claimed the regional team title with a score of 347 at Eagles Pub & Golf Course. The Cardinals were led by senior Sydney Schrant (84, second), junior Kooper Williams (85, third), senior Zach O’Connor (89, eighth), senior Grady Ditgen (89, eighth), junior Caeden Mruk (96) and senior Tred Grusing (96).
Garden Plain (359) was edged out by Hoisington (358) for the second qualifying spot, but will send freshman Nate Eck (85, third) and senior Seth Dugan (87, sixth) to state. Meanwhile, Kingman will send three individuals to state in senior Kory Meireis (79, first), freshman Chaz Snyder (88, seventh) and senior Will McBeth (91, 11th).
Class 3A Wichita Trinity
In likely the most competitive regional in the class, Wichita Trinity (339) and Collegiate (343) earned the two qualifying spots with defending champion Hesston (358) and Council Grove (358) not far behind at Tallgrass Country Club.
Trinity had all six golfers in the top-20 in junior Alex Majors (79, second), junior Jesse Eklund (85, fifth), freshman Cooper Martsolf (86, eighth), junior John Draper (89, 12th), sophomore Cole Palmer (89, 12th) and senior Cooper Mathews (93, 17th).
Meanwhile, Collegiate had three in the top-5 with freshman Jacobi Salyers (83, third), senior Zach Voloch (84, fourth) and sophomore Landon Langston (85, fifth). Other Spartans included freshman Remy Blanchaert (91, 15th), junior Charlie Gentile (100) and freshman Torsten Overman (100).
Other individual qualifiers from the area included the Hesston duo of sophomore Austin Penner (87, ninth) and senior Grant Waterson (88, 10th), as well as Halstead junior Maxx Linton (88, 10th).
Class 2A Erie
Hillsboro snagged the third and final team qualifying spot at Prairie Ridge, a tournament that was cut short to just nine holes due to weather. The Trojans featured senior Lincoln Wichert (43, seventh), sophomore Braxton Hiebert (44, ninth), sophomore Jake Sibayan (47, 16th), junior Reese Duerksen (52), sophomore Peyton Miller (53) and sophomore Nathan Hill (57).
Other area individual qualifiers included Eureka sophomore Mason Hughes (40, third), Sedgwick junior Keighan Earles (40, third) and the Berean sophomores Luke Friesen (46, 11th) and Mason Balzer (46, 11th).
Class 2A Salina Sacred Heart
Hutchinson Trinity finished runner-up to host Salina Sacred Heart with a team score of 319 at Salina Municipal. All six Celtics notched top-15 finishes in sophomore Tyler Casebolt (76, third), sophomore Miles Blaylock (80, sixth), senior Lincoln Barnes (81, seventh), junior Seamus Hogan (82, eighth), junior Matt Armour (88, 12th) and freshman Ian Shaw (88, 12th).
Sterling sophomore Cameron Morris (85, ninth) was the only other area individual qualifier.
Class 1A Goessel
Hutchinson Central Christian was dominant at Hesston Golf Course to claim the regional team title with a score of 331, led by the one-two finish of sophomore Cael Kooiman (77) and senior Ryland Kooiman (80). Other members of the team included senior Nathan Reed (85, fifth), freshman Tyler Reed (89, eighth), senior Tarren Scripsick (108) and senior Brody Froese (110).
Other area individual qualifiers included Goessel junior Levi Schrag (87, sixth) and Independent sophomore Andrew Nelson (88, seventh).
This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 5:09 AM.
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