By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Logan-Rogersville Wildcats captured this year’s Class 1 – District 3 golf tournament Monday afternoon in Marshfield at Whispering Oaks Golf Course.
The Wildcats posted a team low score of 361 to grab this year’s district title. Annie Strong, with a round of 88, led the Rogersville effort. Finishing second in the tournament were the Springfield Catholic Fightin Irish who carded a 367. Host Strafford was third with a 371.
In 2016 the Wildcats returned home without a trophy. So what happened to the Cats in just one short year.
“We pretty much have the same group of girls we brought last year. But they’ve matured a lot,” said head Wildcat coach John Schaefer. “They’ve understood from day one what it would take for us to get here. Winning a district title was an extreme goal of ours this year, but our girls pulled it off. I’m so very proud of these kids.”
Annie Strong was also proud. When asked just what the Wildcat formula was for picking up this year’s C1D3 championship, she had an answer.
“On the way up here this morning we talked about the goals we had set for ourselves for the tournament. One of those goals was no three putts,” said Strong. “When we got to the course we practiced on the things we needed to, made a cross with our arms and then said a prayer before heading on out to the course.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TOURNAMENT
Strong said for her, staying positive helped to keep her focused and on track to post a team low score of 88.
“I shot a 46 on the front side but I didn’t get down on myself,” the Lady Wildcat said. “I stayed positive and on the back side posted a 42 for an eighteen hole total of 88.”
Rounding out the Wildcat scorecard were Maristela Montala 46-43-89, Brooke Wagner 49-42-91, Emili Strong 48-45-93, and Alyssa Jungers 47-47-94.
Runner-up Springfield Catholic has come a long way in 2017. After a slow start the Fightin Irish have begun to gel, something that excites head coach Frank Gallant.
“We’ve had solid play all year long from our number one girl Kayla Pfitzner and our number two Allison Berke. But we were struggling in the three, four and five spots,” said Gallant. “But we’ve seen vast improvement in those spots over the past few weeks. That’s because the girls occupying those spots- Ellen Moore, Brooke Newhouse and Cate Schnoebe have been working really hard. Their efforts have made us very competitive at the right time of the year.”
Pfitzner, who recorded a 41 on the front side and a 37 on the back for a 78, finished as the tournament’s top medalist. It marked the fifth time this season she’s carded a tournament’s best score.
“I played okay today,” said Pfitzner. “But not my best. I didn’t putt very well today.”
Last year Pfitzner shot an 85 at the district meet, went on through sectionals and managed to place 15th as a freshman at the state tournament.
Crocker’s Lily Huges collected one of the day’s biggest shots, an eagle on the eighteenth hole. Huges pitched the ball in the cup from 38 yards out.
“I didn’t expect it to go in,” said Huges. “I was just hoping to get it as close to the hole as I could and it dropped in. It was crazy.”
Both Rogersville and Springfield Catholic, along with several other medalist individual qualifiers, will now advance on to compete at the sectional tournament next Monday in Nevada.
Following are C1D3 tournament results:
Team Scores:
Rogersville: 1. Annie Strong- 88, 2. Maristela Montala- 89, 3. Brooke Wagner- 91, 4. Emili Strong- 93, 5. Alyssa Jungers- 94.
Catholic: 1. Kayla Pfitzner- 78, 2. Allison Berke- 90, 3. Ellen Moore- 92, 4. Brooke Newhouse- 107, 5. Cate Schnoebe- 113.
Scoreboard
No. Team Score
1. Rogersville 361
2. Catholic 367
3. Strafford 371
4. Blair Oaks 396
4. Osage 426
5. Crocker 516
7. Buffalo 528
8. Dixon 632
Medalists
No. Name Score School
1 Kayla Pfitnzer 78 Catholic
2 Hayley Frank 82 Strafford
3 Annie Strong 88 Rogersville
4 Kayla Foht 89 Strafford
5 Maristela Montala 89 Rogersville
6 Allison Berke 90 Catholic
7 Halie Rackers 91 Blair Oaks
8 Brooke Wagner 91 Rogersville
9 Ellen Moore 92 Catholic
10 Paige Luebbering 93 Blair Oaks
11 Emili Strong 93 Rogersville
12 Alyssa Jungers 94 Rogersville
13 Britney Akers 95 Dixon
14 Emily Maher 99 Osage
15 Emily Underwood 99 Strafford
Qualifiers
No. Name Score School
1. Kelsie Shoemaker 101 Crocker
2. Kayley Frank 101 Strafford
3. Alyssa Collette 104 Strafford
4. Ashley Fifer 105 Blair Oaks
5. Claire Smith 107 Blair Oaks
6. Lexi Meisemer 108 Hollister
7. Elliott Hull 109 Blair Oaks
8. Destiny Drake 109 Osage
9. Sydney Riley 109 Osage
10. Greta Crooks 109 Osage
