The look in the rear-view mirror of the school van is going to look a lot different next year for Wayne High girls golf coach Josh Johnson.
The four seniors who led the way back to the state golf tournament after winning it all a year ago left the Lake Maloney Golf Course with plenty of memories, capped off by a ninth-place finish in the Class C Girls State Golf Championships Tuesday afternoon.
After shooting a 412 the first day, the seniors all improved on the second day of the 36-hole tournament, carding a 388 that was highlighted by a medal-winning effort from Carli Canham.
Canham hovered near the medal cutoff going into the second day and put herself in position with a consistent round on a cool, drizzly Tuesday. She shot a 42 on the front side and flirted with a sub-40 back nine before a double bogey on 17 put her in a position where she needed a par to secure a top 15 finish.
“When she got to 18 and hit a nice tee shot and got it on the green in two, I just told her to get her two-putt and move on,” Johnson said. “She had a little wiggle room there at the end, but it was nice to see her finish with a medal.”
Johnson was proud of both Canham and Hallie Heithold, who finished in the top 30 with a two-day total of 183, for the leadership they provided.
“They kind of had the weight of the world on their shoulders after winning it last year and put a lot of pressure on themselves to try and duplicate that, and they were just fantastic leaders this year,” Johnson said. “They were great all year and that leadership is something you just can’t replace.”
He was also happy with the efforts of Wayne’s other two seniors, Rylynn Owen and Claire Reinke, both of whom improved from the first day to the second.
Owen improved by eight shots with a second-day round of 96 and Reinke shaved nine shots off her first round with a 117 on the second day.
“They were kind of our MVPs this week because we had some goals set for them to shoot down here, and they just blew those scores out of the water,” Johnson said. “They went out and played rounds that were better than their averages, and to do that at state in less-than-ideal conditions is pretty awesome.”
Freshman Avery Gubbels finished her second round five shots behind her first round, but played a better second nine on the second day, including a near-chip in for birdie on the final hole of the day.
Class C Girls State Golf Championships
Final Team Standings
Minden 328-321 — 649
Columbus Scotus 362-350 — 712
West Holt 377-364 — 741
Adams Central 365-378 — 743
Grand Island CC 383-366 — 749
Sutton 376-386 — 762
Battle Creek 388-392 — 780
Valentine 393-403 — 796
Wayne 412-388 — 800
EMF 408-393 — 801
Boone Central 406-398 — 804
Lincoln Christian 419-397 — 816
Chadron 423-405 — 828
Central City 425-410 — 835
Gothenburg 453-426 — 879
Top 15 Medalists
1. KayLynn Jorgensen, Minden 74-69 — 143
2. Macy Jorgensen, Minden 78-76 — 154
3. Mia Hiebner, H&H 81-75 — 156
4. Daleni Knust, West Holt 80-79 — 159
5. Peyton Hartman, Adams Central 81-79 — 160
6. Shelby Nelson, Minden 82-79 — 161
7. Rylee Altwine, Pierce 86-77 — 163
8. Kiya Taylor, Scotus 89-78 — 167
9. Makenzie Claussen, GICC 86-83 — 169
10. Abigail Klooz, EMF 88-82 — 170
11. Addison Rehnberg, Holdrege 84-87 — 171
12. Molly Kenna, GICC 90-82 — 172
T13. Carli Canham, Wayne 90-84 — 174
T13. Emma Anderson, Oak.-Craig 91-83 — 174
15. Jordyn Larsen, Ravenna 90-85 — 175
Wayne Results
Carli Canham 90-84 — 174
Hallie Heithold 92-91 — 183
Rylynn Owen 104-96 — 200
Claire Reinke 126-117 — 243
Avery Gubbels 145-150 — 295
