Scores for the Cassville girls golf team have been dropping in recent years, and the Lady Wildcats are loading a bus for Mountain Grove today to play in tomorrow’s district tournament, dialing in their rangefinder on qualifying the team to state.
Gracie Harmon tees off on a par 3 at the Cassville Golf Club during Big 4 play recently. Kyle Troutman/ktroutman@cherryroad.com
As her teammates watch, Adelee Hendricks tees off on a hole at the Cassville Golf Club during Big 4 play. Kyle Troutman/ktroutman@cherryroad.com
Chaney Cox exchanges smiles with Adelee Hendricks as she approaches the tee box during recent Big 4 play. Kyle Troutman/ktroutman@cherryroad.com
Cassville was brimming with confidence going into this week, not far removed from a first-place team finish at the Cassville Tournament on Sept. 22, where Avery Chappell took first, Gracie Harmon fourth and Maci Barton ninth. Other team members competing were Chaney Cox, Adelee Hendricks, Langston Mitchell, Madison Robertshaw, Isabella Dunbar, Gwen Harmon, and Julie Gregory.
“We won our first tournament as a team at home, and so far, that has been the highlight of the season,” said Jay Rogers, Cassville golf coach. “In Carthage, we took second as a team and Avery took second. We’ve seen improvement and had some successes this year we didn’t see last year from a team perspective. That means some of the other girls are contributing with better scores than last year.”
Rogers hopes that home course score can be equated in Mountain Grove.
“I don’t know what all the other schools in our district have done, but I know the ones in our conference we’ve had success against,” he said. “If we perform well as a team, we have a chance to qualify, but it will take a full effort. We need scores to be equal to or potentially better than at our home tournament.”
Out of the 14-team district, the top two teams qualify for state, with four golfers per team. The top 12 individuals also qualify for state, excluding any of the team qualifiers that ranked in the top 12.
“It would be awesome for us to qualify as a team,” Rogers said. “But, if we can qualify two or three individuals, I would call that a success, too.”
Leading the charge for Cassville is Chappell, a junior who last year made Lady Wildcats golf history by placing 10th in the Class 2 MSHSAA State Championships, earning the team’s first individual state medal.
“Right now, over five tournaments, she’s averaging about 80-81,” Rogers said. “She’s done a better job this year of scrambling to save some scores. She hasn’t hit pure every tournament, but she has still done well. I hope she can end her year with everything coming together for her and she can put up some numbers.”
Last year, Chappell was fourth in districts with a 90, a dozen strokes behind the 78 winner from Nevada.
Rogers said the rest of the team can also sneak in if they shoot well.
“If all the other girls can equal their best scores of the year, I think they all have a chance,” Rogers said. “Our tournament saw their best rounds, but I think they can shoot as high as 109 or 110 at districts and still have a chance.”
The Lady Wildcats will head into uncharted territory, playing on a Mountain Grove course they have never encountered.
“We’ll have a practice round on Wednesday, but all I’ve heard about it is second-hand,” Roger said. “It seems pretty straight-forward with most of the holes right in front of you, though I hear some are heavily lined with trees, so that is a potential challenge there.” Ultimately, Rogers said if his team plays as they know how, good things may happen. “The challenge now is to continue to remember the things that we did to see improvement and to keep doing those things as we move forward in these tournaments,” he said.
Cassville competed in the Big 8 Conference Tournament on Tuesday, with results not available as of presstime.
