Kansas high school golf state qualifiers: Kapaun’s Asher Whitaker sets record score

It’s no surprise Asher Whitaker claimed the individual medalist honors at the Class 5A regional hosted by Andover on Tuesday afternoon.

The Kapaun Mt. Carmel senior, who became the youngest Kansas Amateur champion in nearly a century two summers ago, is headed to Oklahoma for a reason.

But Whitaker turned heads all across the state on Tuesday with his score: a career-low 63, which was 9-under on the north course at Crestview Country Club.

It was the lowest score posted by any regional champion at any level and cleared Tuesday’s field, which featured many of the best golfers in 5A, by seven strokes.

“It had been a long time coming,” Kapaun coach Corey Novascone said. “He’s been driving it and hitting his irons well all season. He just hasn’t been putting great and we’ve worked hard on that the last couple of days. He finally started making putts. He pretty much made everything he looked at (Tuesday).”

The hole that highlighted the round for Novascone was how Whitaker handled the par-5 No. 18 after making a rare errant drive off the tee box. He had a narrow clearing amidst trees, a shot he maybe would try on another day, but Whitaker instead trusted his iron play and took the safe route by chipping out into the fairway.

The cautious decision paid off, as Whitaker stuck his approach shot within three feet of the cup and tapped in for a birdie to card a career-low number.

“I always tell our kids to do the shot that you can do 90% of the time,” Novascone said. “I know he wanted to try the hero shot, which was probably a 15-20% shot, but then he thought it out himself and he went with the 90% shot. He’s just playing really smart golf right now.”

The only thing left for Whitaker to accomplish at the high school level is to win an individual state title, something he has come close to (fourth in 2021 and runner-up in both 2022 and 2023) all three years.

The good news for him is that the 5A state tournament will be played at Sand Creek Station in Newton, the same course where he won the 2022 Kansas Amateur title.

“He just has this great attitude about him where he believes nobody is going to beat him and that’s the attitude you have to have,” Novascone said. “I like his chances every time he goes out there, but especially at Sand Creek. He’s got some great memories going into that and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.”

While Whitaker stole the show with his individual greatness, Goddard Eisenhower (291) prevailed in a thrilling team race against Kapaun (293) and Andover (295) for the team championship. Andover Central (304) and Bishop Carroll (313) each posted state-worthy scores, but missed the top-three cut in the most difficult regional in 5A.

Andover Central sent a trio of golfers to state in sophomore Colt Farrow (71, third), senior Cal Schultz (76, 10th) and junior Ethan Balke (76, 10th), while Carroll sent a duo in sophomore Max Farber (76, 10th) and junior Drew Mercer (76, 10th).

Eisenhower managed to edge Kapaun with four top-10 finishes in senior Carson Wright (71, third), senior Brody Scafe (72, sixth), senior Tyler Hardtarfer (74, eighth) and sophomore Luke Springer (74, eighth). Other state-qualifying members included sophomore Nic Tonnessen (76, 10th) and sophomore Jackson Loomis (82).

Andover was powered by two top-five finishes by junior Grant Hatzenbuehler (70, second) and junior Aidan Nguyen (71, third), while other team members included junior Luke Yowell (76, 10th), junior Luke Farley (78), sophomore Seth Benjamin (80) and sophomore Brody Fox (87).

Other Kapaun state qualifiers included senior Noah Pirtle (73, seventh), junior Jason Brokaw (76, 10th), junior Carson Bachrodt (81), sophomore Owen Young (82) and senior Billy Weaver (82).

In the other 5A regional hosted by Salina South, Maize South won the team title by five strokes over Salina South with a score of 295 at Salina Municipal. The Mavericks had four place in the top-six in junior Laken Matthews (70, second), sophomore Alex Burroughs (73, third), junior Colten Hoover (75, fifth) and sophomore Joe Binger (77, sixth) and other top-15 placers in sophomore Travis Black (81, 11th) and senior Britton Ford (84, 14th).

Other area individual state medalists included four from Hutchinson in senior Winston Johnson (80, 10th), junior Mitchell Rice (84, 14th), senior Garrison Hicks (85, 18th) and senior Roman Kulick-Hart (84, 18th) and Valley Center senior Holden McDaniel (84, 14th).

Class 6A regional golf: Derby dominates to win team title

Derby dominated a 6A regional hosted on its home course, Derby Golf & Country Club, as all six golfers placed in the top-10 and the Panthers’ winning team score of 294 was 31 strokes better than runner-up Dodge City.

Individual medalist honors came down to between Derby senior teammates, as Jaydon Carruthers (1-under 70) edged Cael Asmann (even-par 71) in a one-two finish. They were joined by senior Nate Pierce (76, fifth), senior Landon Renberger (77, sixth), senior Collin Meyer (77, sixth) and senior Jace Knudson (78, ninth).

Maize (340) snagged the third and final team qualifying spot, led by a lone top-10 finish by junior Kobey Jackson (77, sixth). Other team members include senior A.B. Cavazos (86), junior Zack Kelley (87), junior Brock McKay (90), junior Mason Teague (94) and freshman Chayse Sullivan (98).

In another 6A regional hosted by Junction City, Wichita East sophomore Talen Nasone tied for the lowest score with a 6-over 78 at Rolling Hills to lead the Blue Aces to a third-place finish and a ticket to the state tournament.

Other state-qualifying members for East include junior Anderson Tung (86), junior Donovan Symons (96), junior Henry White (99), sophomore Hagen Shane (108) and freshman Kyran Shane (120). Other individual state qualifiers from the area included Southeast junior Logan Lam (80, fourth), Heights sophomore Carter Anderson (99, 18th) and Southeast junior Lucky Hoang (100, 20th).

Class 4A regional golf: McPherson, Andale, Circle, Wellington all advance

At the 4A regional hosted by Hugoton, McPherson (340) edged Andale (347) for the team championship at Forewinds Golf Course.

McPherson placed three in the top-six in junior Blaise Hoover (79, second), freshman Hudson Krehbiel (82, fifth) and senior Cale Dahlstrom (87, sixth) with other team members in sophomore Paxton Ingels (92), senior Owen Pyle (94) and senior Teegan Haines (101).

Andale had five in the top-12 with junior Tyler Hinton (80, third), sophomore Sam Kuepker (88, eighth), sophomore Cavan Schueller (89, ninth), junior Ryan Brasser (90, 10th) and sophomore Jackson Bell (91, 12th). Junior Trent Eck (104) also qualified with the team.

Other area individual state qualifiers were Mulvane junior Dylan Paul (87, sixth) and junior David Bellew (93, 15th) and Buhler junior Drew DeMeyer (92, 13th).

At the 4A regional hosted by Wellington, Independence (314) topped Circle (320) and Wellington (324) in a three-way race for the team championship.

Circle’s state qualifiers featured sophomore Anderson Helmer (76, second), senior Conner Chadwell (80, fifth), junior Logan Martin (81, seventh), sophomore Wyatt Sharp (83, 13th), senior Logan Nice (85, 16th) and sophomore Kolton Parrish (85, 16th).

Wellington was led by four top-10 finishes by junior Owen Farley (80, fifth), junior Derek Rausch (81, seventh), sophomore Ethan Brungardt (81, seventh) and junior Colten Clift (82, 10th). Other team members were freshman Boston Lawrence (90) and freshman Cameron Rosenberg (96).

The other individual state qualifiers from the area were Winfield junior Drew Graham (82, 10th), Augusta freshman Reid Shelite (82, 10th) and Rose Hill junior Avery Tagtow (89, 20th).

Class 3A regional golf: Collegiate wins title, while Cheney, Hesston advance

In an intense battle for the second and final team qualifying spot in the 3A regional hosted at Cherry Oaks Golf Course, Cheney (319) edged Trinity Academy (320) by a single stroke on its home course to punch its ticket to the state tournament.

In a three-way race, Collegiate (312) won the team championship with freshman Lunden Esterline winning individual medalist honors with a 3-under score of 69. Other qualifying team members for the Spartans included freshman Landon Langston (75, fourth), junior Zach Voloch (83, 11th), freshman Timmy Ritchie (85, 13th), sophomore Charlie Gentile (88, 17th) and senior Price Johnson (92, 19th).

Cheney was led by three top-10 finishes by senior Aiden Lynch (74, third), junior Sydney Schrant (78, sixth) and sophomore Kooper Williams (82, ninth) with junior Grady Ditgen (85), junior Tred Grusing (87) and junior Zach O’Connor (116) also headed to state.

Individual state qualifiers from the area featured two from Trinity in sophomore Alex Majors (70, second) and freshman Cole Palmer (79, eighth), Kingman junior Kory Meireis (77, fifth) and Halstead senior Connor Whitsitt (82, ninth).

In the 3A regional hosted in Salina, Hesston won the team championship by four strokes with a team score of 323. The Swathers were led by three top-10 finishes by junior Grant Waterson (77, fourth), senior Palmer Welsh (77, fourth) and freshman Carter Frey (82, seventh) with other state qualifiers in senior Cooper Frey (87), sophomore Eli Roth (89) and senior Cade Unruh (89).

Class 2A regional golf: Berean, Hutchinson Trinity, Garden Plain advance

Hutchinson Trinity (344, first) and Garden Plain (362, third) both advanced to the state tournament with top-three finishes at the 2A regional hosted by Syracuse.

Hutchinson Trinity had three in the top-10 with junior Lincoln Barnes (78, first), senior Eric Armour (85, fifth) and freshman Miles Blaylock (86, seventh) with other qualifying members in freshman Tyler Casebolt (95), sophomore Matt Armour (103) and sophomore Seamus Hogan (104).

Garden Plain was led by a pair of top-five finishes in junior Max McGregor (79, second) and sophomore Tate Nelson (85, fifth) with other qualifying members in sophomore Gabe Kampling (99), freshman Cooper Scheer (99), freshman Seth Dugan (103) and junior Chris Wyant (105).

The lone other area individual qualifier was Sterling freshman Cameron Morris (89, 11th).

In the 2A regional hosted by Eureka, Berean Academy had a one-two finish at the top of the individual leaderboard by senior Mark Entz (88) and junior Braden Koontz (80) to win a team championship with a score of 374 strokes.

Other Berean state-qualifying members were senior Drake Winzer (97, eighth), freshman Luke Friesen (100), senior Aiden Brown (107) and sophomore Emory Kukula (107).

The other area individual state qualifiers were Hillsboro junior Lincoln Wichert (89, second), Hillsboro senior Annaliese Jorgenson (95, sixth), Wichita Independent freshman Andrew Nelson (97, eighth) and Eureka freshman Mason Hughes (100, 13th).

Class 1A regional golf: Hutchinson Central Christian dominates for title

Hutchinson Central Christian dominated its own 1A regional played at Wedgwood Golf Course, as freshman Cael Kooiman (80, first), junior Nathan Reed (81, second) and junior Ryland Kooiman (82, fourth) led the way for a team championship.

Other Central Christian state-qualifying members included senior Dale Oatney (100, ninth), junior Tarren Scripsick (123) and junior Brody Froese (125).

Goessel finished runner-up in the team race, led by a pair of top-five finishes by senior Noah Schrag (81, second) and sophomore Levi Schrag (82, fourth). Other qualifying team members included senior Chevy Gagnon (108), sophomore Anthony Boden (112), junior Luke Stucky (115) and junior Jack Nickel (130).

Other area individual state qualifiers included Canton-Galva sophomore Leyton Witte (90, sixth), Canton-Galva sophomore Jase Beltz (101, 11th) and Pretty Prairie senior Brogan Stucky (103, 13th).

KSHSAA boys golf regional tournament results

Class 6A Derby at Derby Golf & Country Club (par 71)

Teams—1. Derby 294 (Carruthers 70, Asmann 71, Pierce 76, Renberger 77, Meyer 77, Knudson 78); 2. Dodge City 325; 3. Maize (Jackson 77, Cavazos 86, Kelley 87, McKay 90, Teague 94, Sullivan 98) 340; 4. Garden City 358; 5. Liberal 366; 6. Wichita Northwest 424; 7. Campus 485.

Medalists—1. Carruthers, Derby, 70; 2. Asmann, Derby, 71; 3. Robinson, Dodge City, 72; 4. Shook, Garden City, 75; 5. Pierce, Derby, 76; 6. Renbeger, Derby, 77; 6. Meyer, Derby, 77; 6. Jackson, Maize, 77; 9. Knudson, Derby, 78; 9. Peters, Dodge City, 78.

Class 6A Junction City at Rolling Meadows (par 72)

Teams—1. Manhattan 320; 2. Washburn Rural 337; 3. Wichita East (Nasone 78, Tung 86, Symons 96, White 99, H. Shane 108, K. Shane 120) 359; 4. Junction City 388; 5. Wichita Southeast 393; 6. Wichita North 479; 7. Wichita West 499; 8. Wichita Heights 528.

Medalists—1. Nasone, Wichita East, 78; 1. Kandt, Manhattan, 78; 3. Reid, Manhattan 79; 4. Lam, Wichita Southeast, 80; 4. Hull, Manhattan 80, 6. Zimlich, Washburn Rural, 82; 6. Hurley, Junction City, 82; 8. Powers, Manhattan, 83; 8. Monasmith, Washburn Rural, 83; 10. Cochran, Manhattan, 84.

Other area state qualifiers—18. Anderson, Wichita Heights, 99; 20. Hoang, Wichita Southeast, 100.

Class 5A Andover at Crestview Country Club North (par 72)

Teams—1. Goddard Eisenhower (Wright 71, Scafe 72, Hardtarfer 74, Springer 74, Tonnessen 76, Loomis 82) 291; 2. Kapaun Mt. Carmel (Whitaker 63, Pirtle 73, Brokaw 76, Bachrodt 81, Young 82, Weaver 82) 293; 3. Andover (Hatzenbuehler 70, Nguyen 71, Yowell 76, Farley 78, Benjamin 80, Fox 87) 295; 4. Andover Central 304; 5. Bishop Carroll 313; 6. Goddard 360; 7. Arkansas City 480.

Medalists—1. Whitaker, Kapaun, 63; 2. Hatzenbuehler, Andover, 70; 3. Farrow, Andover Central, 71; 3. Wright, Eisenhower, 71; 3. Nguyen, Andover, 71; 6. Scafe, Eisenhower, 72; 7. Pirtle, Kapaun, 73; 8. Hardtarfer, Eisenhower, 74; 8. Springer, Eisenhower, 74; 10. Schultz, Andover Central, 76; 10. Brokaw, Kapaun, 76; 10. Yowell, Andover, 76; 10. Farber, Carroll, 76; 10. Balke, Andover Central, 76; 10. Mercer, Carroll, 76; 10. Tonnessen, Eisenhower, 76.

Class 5A Salina South at Salina Municipal (par 70)

Teams—1. Maize South (Matthews 70, Burroughs 73, Hoover 75, Binger 77, Black 81, Ford 84) 295; 2. Salina South 300; 3. Hays 327; 4. Hutchinson 334; 5. Valley Center 351; 6. Salina Central 372; 7. Great Bend 389; 8. Newton 435.

Medalists—1. Xaysongkham, Salina South, 67; 2. Matthews, Maize South, 70; 3. Burroughs, Maize South, 73; 4. Perry, Salina South, 74; 5. Hoover, Maize South, 75; 6. Binger, Maize South, 77; 7. Harris, Salina South, 78; 8. Johnson, Hays, 79; 8. Thompson, Hays, 79; 10. Johnson, Hutchinson, 80.

Other area state qualifiers—14. Rice, Hutchinson, 84; 14. McDaniel, Valley Center, 84; 18. Hicks, Hutchinson, 85; 18. Kulick-Hart, Hutchinson, 85.

Class 4A Hugoton at Forewinds Golf Course (par 72)

Teams—1. McPherson (Hoover 79, Krehbiel 82, Dahlstrom 87, Ingles 92, Pyle 94, Haines 101) 340; 2. Andale (Hinton 80, Kuepker 88, Schueller 89, Brasser 90, Bell 91, Eck 104) 347; 3. Scott City 361; 4. Hugoton 379; 5. Pratt 385; 6. Mulvane 386; 7. Buhler 390; 8. Clearwater 431; 9. Ulysses 497.

Medalists—1. Rumford, Scott City, 77; 2. Hoover, McPherson, 79; 3. Hinton, Andale, 80; 4. McAtee, Pratt, 81; 5. Krehbiel, McPherson, 82; 6. Dahlstrom, McPherson, 87; 6. Paul, Mulvane, 87; 8. Kuepker, Andale, 88; 9. Schueller, Andale, 89; 10. Brasser, Andale, 90; 10. Wheeler, Scott City, 90.

Other area state qualifiers—13. DeMeyer, Buhler, 92; 15. Bellew, Mulvane, 93.

Class 4A Wellington at Wellington Golf Club (par 70)

Teams—1. Independence 314; 2. Circle (Helmer 76, Chadwell 80, Martin 81, Sharp 83, Nice 85, Parrish 85); 3. Wellington (Farley 80, Rausch 81, Brungardt 81, Clift 82, Lawrence 90, Rosenberg 96); 4. Winfield 357; 5. Augusta 370; 6. Rose Hill 396; 7. Labette County 409; 8. Coffeyville 409; 9. El Dorado 424.

Medalists—1. Small, Independence, 68; 2. Helmer, Circle, 76; 3. Becker, Coffeyville, 78; 3. Mavers, Independence, 78; 5. Chadwell, Circle, 80; 5. Farley, Wellington, 80; 7. Rausch, Wellington, 81; 7. Martin, Circle, 81; 7. Brungardt, Wellington, 81; 10. Graham, Winfield, 82; 10. Clift, Wellington, 82; 10. Shelite, Augusta, 82.

Other area state qualifiers—20. Tagtow, Rose Hill, 89.

Class 3A Collegiate at Cherry Oaks Golf Course (par 72)

Teams—1. Wichita Collegiate (Esterline 69, Langston 75, Voloch 83, Ritchie 85, Gentile 88, Johnson 92) 312; 2. Cheney (Lynch 74, Schrant 78, Williams 82, Ditgen 85, Grusing 87, O’Connor 116) 319; 3. Trinity Academy 320; 4. Halstead 375; 5. Larned 390.

Medalists—1. Esterline, Collegiate, 69; 2. Majors, Trinity, 70; 3. Lynch, Cheney, 74; 4. Langston, Collegiate, 75; 5. Meireis, Kingman, 77; 6. Schrant, Cheney, 78; 6. Reynolds, Larned, 78; 8. Palmer, Trinity, 79; 9. Williams, Cheney, 82; 9. Whitsitt, Halstead, 82.

Class 3A Southeast of Saline at Great Life Golf Course (par 71)

Teams—1. Hesston (Waterson 77, Welsh 77, Ca. Frey 82, Co. Frey 87, Roth 89, Unruh 89) 323; 2. Santa Fe Trail 327; 3. Southeast of Saline 327; 4. Council Grove 333; 5. Osage City 390; 6. Hoisington 410; 7. Ellsworth 469; 8. Minneapolis 478; 9. Lyons 502.

Medalists—1. Buchman, Council Grove, 67; 2. Workman, Santa Fe Trail, 72; 3. Esch, Southeast of Saline, 73; 4. Waterson, Hesston, 77; 4. Welsh, Hesston, 77; 6. Thiel, Southeast of Saline, 79; 7. Frye, Santa Fe Trail, 82; 7. Huffaker, Southeast of Saline, 82; 7. Frey, Hesston, 82; 10. Adams, Council Grove, 83.

Class 2A Eureka at Eureka Country Club (par 72)

Teams—1. Berean Academy (Entz 88, Koontz 89, Winzer 97, Friesen 100, Brown 107, Kukula 107) 374; 2. Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan 385; 3. Erie 411; 4. Eureka 441; 5. Hillsboro 454; 6. Sedan 497.

Medalists—1. Entz, Berean, 88; 2. Koontz, Berean, 89; 2. Wichert, Hillsboro, 89; 2. Hite, Colgan, 89; 5. VanBecelaere, Colgan, 93; 6. Jorgenson, Hillsboro, 95; 7. Mendenhall, Jayhawk-Linn, 96; 8. Nelson, Independent, 97; 8. Hamilton, Colgan, 97; 8. Winzer, Brean, 97; 8. Wilson, Erie, 97.

Class 2A Syracuse at Tamarisk Golf Course (par 72)

Teams—1. Hutchinson Trinity (Barnes 78, E. Armour 85, Blaylock 86, Casebolt 95, M. Armour 103, Hogan 104) 344; 2. Syracuse 352; 3. Garden Plain (McGregor 79, Nelson 85, Kampling 99, Scheer 99, Dugan 103, Wyant 105) 362; 4. Inman 366; 5. Sterling 396; 6. Sublette 407; 7. Meade 416; 8. Sedgwick 483.

Medalists—1. Barnes, Hutchinson Trinity, 78; 2. McGregor, Garden Plain, 79; 2. Keller, Syracuse, 79; 4. Kendrick, Stanton County, 82; 5. Nelson, Garden Plain, 85; 5. Armour, Hutchinson Trinity, 85; 7. McAtee, Meade, 86; 7. Blaylock, Hutchinson Trinity, 86; 9. Lee, Sublette, 87; 10. Keller, Syracuse, 88.

Other area state qualifiers—11. Morris, Sterling, 89.

Class 1A Central Christian at Wedgwood Golf Course (par 70)

Teams—1. Hutchinson Central Christian () 343; 2. Goessel () 383; 3. Olpe 459; 4. Madison 483; 5. St. John 484; 6. Pretty Prairie 490.

Medalists—1. Kooiman, Central Christian, 80; 2. Reed, Central Christian, 81; 2. Schrag, Goessel, 81; 4. R. Kooiman, Central Christian, 82; 4. Schrag, Goessel, 82; 6. Witte, Canton-Galva, 90; 7. Ritter, Kinsley, 91; 8. Vieux, St. John, 92; 9. Crisp, Olpe, 100; 9. Oatney, Central Christian, 100.

Other area state qualifiers—11. Beltz, Canton-Galva, 101; 13. Stucky, Pretty Prairie, 103.