NORTH PLATTE —Wayne coach Josh Johnson wasn’t expecting any of his to shoot a personal best on the first day of the state girls golf tournament.
With a brisk breeze and a delayed start due to a frost advisory, he wasn’t looking for anybody to light up the greens and fairways at Lake Maloney Golf Course as the first day of the Class C State Girls Golf Championships teed off.
Enter his No. 2 girl in the lineup, Carli Canham.
The junior caught fire in the early going with a birdie on No. 3 and a near hole-in-one that wound up being a birdie to close out a solid front nine with a one-over-par 37.
She cooled off a little on the back nine, but stayed at the top of the leaderboard until the end of the day, finishing with a career-low round of 78.
Canham’s 6-over-par score, coupled with senior Joslyn Johnson’s 84 (tie fifth) and a near personal-best 92 for senior Lindsay Niemann (tie 18th), has the Blue Devils in second place, just six shots behind favorite Minden going into Tuesday’s final round.
Johnson wasn’t looking for anybody to break any personal bests, but was certainly happy to take the team’s overall effort.
“I told them beforehand it’s windy and cool and it’s state so don’t go out and expect your PR’s today, and then Carli went out and did it and Lindsay was off hers by one, so it was a good day for everybody.”
Johnson said his team played relaxed throughout the day and didn’t let any hiccups get in the way. Having three solid rounds also helped out.
“The girls came out and were super-relaxed all day and having fun out there,” he said. “Everyone will have a bad hole out there and everybody found the sand or the grass at one point. But having that depth really helps out. Lindsay at 92 is eight shots better than her average and Hallie isn’t far off so there’s not a big score we have to take.”
Wayne’s round was wrapped up by senior Charli Sievers, who finished with a 98, and junior Hallie Heithold carded a 102.
LCC stands in seventh place after the first day with a 394, led by Clara Brummels with a 91 (tie 14th) and Holly Patefield with a 99. Harper Bruning carded a 100, Skylar Swanson had a 104 and Danica Gould shot a 119.
“I thought the girls played pretty well today,” coach Kristina Patefield said after the round. “We left a few strokes out there, but I think we’ll come back and play better Tuesday.”
The brisk southerly wind that blew over the course actually worked to the Lady Bears’ advantage, Patefield said.
“At first I thought the wind might have an impact, but a lot of our good rounds this year have come in windy conditions, so it actually worked out for us a little.”
Class C State Tournament
Day One Team Standings
Minden 346, Wayne 352, Sutton 376, West Holt 376, Columbus Scotus 379, Holdrege 381, LCC 394, EMF 396, Grand Island CC 398, Valentine 404, Ogallala 411, Chadron 424, Boone Centray 426, Omaha Concordia 433, Lincoln Christian 440.
Top 10 Individuals
1. (tie) Kara Schuchsland and KayLynn Jorgensen, both Minden, 77; 3. Carli Canham, Wayne, 78; 4. Julia Messere, GICC, 82; 5. (tie) Abigail Klooz, EMF, Quinn VunCannon, Scotus, Joslyn Johnson, Wayne, and Mia Hiebner, Heartland, 84; 9. (tie) Emma Anderson, O-C, and Amerlia Ptacnik, Holdrege, 87.
Area Results
WAYNE — Carli Canham 78, Joslyn Johnson 84, Lindsay Niemann 92, Charli Sievers 98, Hallie Heithold 102.
LCC — Clara Brummels 91, Holly Patefield 99, Harper Bruning 100, Skylar Swanson 104, Danica Gould 119.
Tuesday Tee Times
*-Start on Hole 10
WAYNE — *Hallie Heithold, 10:30 a.m., Charli Sievers, 10:57 a.m., Lindsay Niemann, 12:00 p.m., Joslyn Johnson, 12:36 p.m., Carli Canham, 12:45 p.m.
LCC — Harper Bruning, 10:39 a.m., Holly Patefield, 10:48 a.m., *Skylar Swanson, 10:57 a.m., Clara Brummels, 12:00 p.m., *Danica Gould, 12:09 p.m.
