By MICHAEL CARNES
For The Herald
NORFOLK — At first glance, their team score might not seem like something that would hold up in a conference tournament situation.
But coach Josh Johnson was more than happy with his team’s round of 394 last Thursday at Norfolk Country Club. Not only did it hold up — it was good enough to end a 20-year conference title drought and give the Blue Devils the Mid State Conference championship.
“I thought we did play extremely well as a team today,” he said after the tournament. “I thought 405 or 410 would win this, so to shoot under 400, I’m extremely ecstatic for how well these girls played.”
And while the scores were a little high on an otherwise-beautiful Thursday out on the course, Johnson said this was a tough course to compete on.
“Norfolk Country Club was brutal,” he said. “If it ain’t the wind it’s out of bounds, if it’s not that it’s the trees, if it’s not that it’s the bunkers, and after you get through all of that, you have to putt on these extremely-fast greens. They battled so hard all day long.”
Johnson’s daughter, junior Joslyn Johnson, played a steady round and shot an 87 to win the individual title by six shots over Kaylin Gaughenbaugh of O’Neill, and Johnson praised the play of his daughter and her teammates.
“She is just so steady and hitting the ball so well,” he said. “I take it a little for granted sometimes as both her coach and her dad, then I realize that she’s playing better than I did at that age. Nothing really rocks her or any of the girls on the team.”
Three of Wayne’s top four golfers earned All-Conference honors for a top 10 finish. Charli Sievers came home in third place with a 95 and Lindsay Niemann was seventh with a 102.
Wayne’s team effort was rounded out by a 110 from Carli canham and a 126 by Hallie Heithold. Rylynn Owen shot 127 and Addison Sharpe had a 134 on the day.
On Friday, the Blue Devils edged Columbus Scotus by seven shots to win the rescheduled Metteer Invitational at Wayne Country Club.
Johnson had her best career round on Friday, finishing with a 5-over par 77 to beat Gaughenbaugh by four shots. Canham was ninth with a 93, Niemann placed 11th with a 94, Sievers shot 101 and Heithold had a 113 for the Blue Devils. Sharpe and Owen both shot rounds of 123.
LCC was led by Skylar Swanson and Clara Brummels with rounds of 99, Holly Patefeild shot 104, Beka Lipp had a 105 and Harper Bruning shot 107.
Mid State Conference
Team Scores
Wayne 394, O’Neill 405, Hartington CC 444, Boone Central 446, Battle Creek 454, Crofton 478, Pierce 490, Norfolk Catholic 512.
All-Conference medalists
1. Joslyn Johnson, Wayne, 87; 2. Kaylin Gaughenbaugh, O’Neill, 93; 3. Charli Sievers, Wayne, 95; 4. Suhani Chaudhari, O’Neill, 96; 5. Taylor Beierman, Boone Central, 101; 6. Molly Heimes, Battle Creek, 101; 7. Lindsay Niemann, Wayne, 102; 8. Rylee Altwine, Pierce, 103; 9. Maci Schommer, Hartington CC, 103; 10. Keria Hestekind, Battle Creek, 104.
Wayne Results
WAYNE — Joslyn Johnson 87, Charli Sievers 95, Lindsay Niemann 102, Carli Canham 110, Hallie Heithold 126, Rylynn Owen 127, Addison Sharpe 134.
Metter Invitational
Team Standings
Wayne 365, Columbus Scotus 372, O’Neill 382, West Holt 382, LCC 407, Battle Creek 408, Hartington CC 435, Pierce 441, Norfolk 463, Norfolk Catholic 465, South Sioux City 481.
Top 15 Medalists
1. Joslyn Johnson, Wayne, 77; 2. Kaylin Gaughenbaugh, O’Neill, 81; 3. Cecilia Arndt, Scotus, 81; 4. Daleni Knust, WH, 87; 5. Quinn VunCannon, Scotus, 90; 6. Avery Ridder, Bergan, 91; 7. Molly Heimes, BC, 92; 8. Cecelia Mlnarik, O’Neill, 92; 9. Carl Canham, Wayne, 93; 10. Brooklyn Butterfield, WH, 93; 11. Lindsay Niemann, Wayne, 94; 12. Abby Mathis, WH, 94; 13. Kaitlyn Fleming, Scotus, 95; 14. Claire Popkes, O’Neill, 97; 15. Rylee Altwine, Pierce, 98.
Area Results
WAYNE — Joslyn Johnson 77, Carli Canham 93, Lindsay Niemann 94, Charli Sievers 101, Hallie Heithold 113, Addison Sharpe 123, Rylynn Owen 123.
LCC — Skylar Swanson 99, Clara Brummels 99, Holly Patefield 104, Beka Lipp 105, Harper Bruning 107.
