By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WAMEGO -- Perennial Class 6A state girls golf power Washburn Rural isn't where it wants to be by fhe end of the 2023 season, but the Junior Blues are getting closer.
Washburn Rural senior Olivia Smith carded an 80 to tie for fourth place in Tuesday's Washburn Rural Invitational at Wamego Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Natalie Peterson helped lead the Junior Blues to a second-place team finish in Tuesday's tournament at Wamego Country Club, tying for fourth place individually with an 80. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Jared Goehring's team shot a season-low 335 on Tuesday at Wamego Country Club to finish second to Centennial League rival Manhattan, which carded a 332 four-person score.
"There's definitely improvement,'' Goehring said. "We've got a long ways to go still, but I like the makeup of this team. I like the leadership on this team so far and we know we've got work to do but there's no doubt that these girls will contine to get better each day.''
Rural senior Olivia Smith and junior Natalie Peterson tied for fourth place individually with 80s while junior Colbey Stead tied for 12th with an 86 and senior Raegan Petersen tied for 19th with an 89 to round out the Junior Blues' top four.
Smth shot a season-low score after carding an 81 earlier this fall at Emporia.
"I felt better about today than I did at Emporia, mostly because Wamego is a tougher course, the greens are rolling and shooting low here is difficult,'' Smith said. "It was windy and your ball flight got impacted a lot. If you had any sort of shift in your ball flight the wind just took it.''
Peterson also recorded a personal-best by five strokes after shooting an 85 last season.
"I thought my front went really well,'' Peterson said. "The back it could have been better, but oh well. Eighty was fine. My short game was really good on the front today, which helps my score go down.''
Topeka High senior Avery Zimmerman, the Trojans' lone entry, tied for 12th place with an 86.
Wamego sophomore Addison Douglass shot a 73 to take medalist honors by five strokes.
WASHBURN RURAL INVITATIONAL
At Wamego Country Club
Team scores
Manhattan 332, Washburn Rural 335, Olatbe Northwest 349, Shawnee Missions East 357, Blue Valley West 377, Olathe West 378, St. James Academy 385, Blue Valley 393, Wamego 396, Mill Valley 398, Free State 439. Shawnee Mission South 448, Lawrence 529.
Individual results
1. Douglass, Wamego, 73; 2. Slicker, Shawnee Mission East, 78; 3. Cagle, Olathe West, 79; 4. (tie) Bahr, Manhattan; Smith, Wasnburn Rural, and Peterson, Washburn Rural, 80; 7. (tie) Neese, Blue Valley., and Ball, Manhattan, 82; 9 Myers, Manhattan, 83 10. Williams, St. James Academy, 84; 11. Beveridge, Olathe Northwest, 85; 12 (tie) Stead, Washburn Rural; Zimmerman, Topeka High; Kelson, Olathe Northwest, and Blacketer, Shawnee Mission East, 86; 16. (tie) Sullivan, Olathe Northwest, and Wuggazer, Manhattan, 87; 18. Adkins, St. Thomas Aquinas, 88; 19. (tie) Van Inwegen, Mill Valley; Rodriguez, Blue Valley West, and R. Petersen, Washburn Rural, 89.
Other Washburn Rural -- Rose 93, Randall 95, Merrick 99, K. Petersen 105, Taggart 110.
