Lady Wildcats qualify as team for Class 2 Girls Golf State
By Kyle Troutman ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com
Playing on their home course, the Cassville girls golf team made program history at the Class 2, District 3 Girls Golf Tournament.
For the first time in its six years of varsity competition, the Lady Wildcats took second as a team in districts, qualifying all five members to compete at Class 2 Girls Golf State on Monday and Tuesday at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club in Joplin.
Senior Avery Chappell, two-time state medalist, led the Lady Wildcats with an 83 (+11) for second place. Junior Madison Robertshaw tied for 18th with a 106 (+34), senior Gracie Harmon as 20th with a 107 (+35), junior Adalee Hendricks was 21st with a 110 (+38) and senior Chaney Cox rounded out the finishers with a 123 (+51).
The qualification is a first for the girls’ program and only the second time in school history a team has qualified for state. A boys team qualified in the 1990s.
Jay Rogers, Cassville golf coach, said the team qualified for state with consistent play, despite some changes to the Cassville Golf Club course compared to the regular season.
“To meet the regulations on distance, MSHSAA had us make it a little bit longer, which added a different element,” he said. “The greens also played really fast that day. All our girls shot about average — even on a tougher course, they played to their normal scores. Others had a lot higher numbers, and that let us sneak into the No. 2 spot.”
Cassville shot a 406 as a team, 11 strokes behind winner Mt. Vernon and 7 ahead of third-place finisher Strafford.
“About half the holes had the ladies’ tee boxes moved back,” Rogers said. “Our course is usually 4,850 yards from the front tees, and we had to make it 5,200 yards. Our girls did a good job of managing the distance and minimizing damage when they did get in trouble.”
Rogers said regular-season tournaments also employ a double bogey rule, which is not given in postseason play.
“Some other girls relied on that at times, and when that happens, it can lead to much bigger scores,” he said.
Familiarity with the course surely helped, Rogers said, but the basics still have to be done.
“You still have to hit shots and get the ball in the cup,” he said.
The Lady Wildcats will go from knowing the ins and outs of the district course to a state course in Joplin none of the players or Rogers has seen before.
Rogers said the group got a practice round in Wednesday, using the one-time opportunity to really get the lay of the land.
“Wednesday was the first time any of us had seen that course, so we spent a lot of time looking for potential trouble spots, and I had the girls do a lot of chipping and putting on the green to get the feeling of how it will play,” Rogers said. “We didn’t play a complete round or keep score; we just played it from different angles.”
Rogers said overall, the course is pretty straight forward, with all but three holes giving a full view from the teebox.
“There will be a premium on hitting the fairway and not getting into trouble,” he said. “If we find ourselves in the rough, we have to do our best to get out and back in play in one shot instead of numerous shots.”
Cassville will compete with seven other schools at the tournament: Maryville, St. Michael the Archangel, Incarnate Word Academy, Notre Dame (St. Louis), Osage, Hallsville and Mt. Vernon. Rogers said of the eight, Cassville’s district score is seventh-best.
“A couple teams are above us by only 8-10 strokes, so if we can slip past them up to a No. 5 or No. 6 placement, I’d be thrilled with that,” Rogers said. “Some of the teams have very good scores, with all five girls averaging in the 80s.
“I mostly want the team to enjoy the experience. They’ve already done the hard work to get there, so reap the reward and just enjoy it.”
Individually, Chappell hopes to go three-for-three with state qualifications and medals, having finished 10th in 2021 and 9th in 2022.
“I think, the top 10 again is a good goal for Avery,” Rogers said. “Looking at some individual scores, there are some schools that were not in our class last year that are this year, and that will make it tougher. I’m not sure if she’s in the top 10 entering the tournament, so getting into that group is a realistic goal.”
The top 15 individual finishers earn medals, and the top four teams earn medals.
Rogers said he was proud to host the district tournament, and he thanks the Cassville Golf Club for its help.
“I appreciate the club members who served as markers for the tournament,” he said. “They helped move things along.”
ONLINE UPDATE: Chappell finished in sixth place at state with two rounds of 85 for a total of 170. The winner, Osage’s Hanna Maschhoff, shot a 79 and 74 for a 153 to beat the runner-up by one stroke. As a team, Cassville finished 7th with an 863, shooting 3 strokes better on day two of the tournament. Hendricks was 70th with a 228, Harmon tied for 71st with a 229 and Robertshaw took 78th with a 236.
