Holton Girls Golf at State 2018

The KSHSAA Class 4A state girls golf tournament marked the end of four Holton High School seniors’ high school golf ca­reers, but Coach Dennis Tegethoff said he was proud to see them finish­ing on a high note.

“Those seniors had a very special year together,” coach Tegethoff said of Sarah Holaday, Faith Holaday, Taylor Stevens and Abbigail Hund­ley. “They had a lot of success, but more importantly, they were great teammates. I heard from many coaches at the state tourney how lucky I was to have such a close-knit, fun group. But I already knew that.”

Tegethoff said the seventh-place team finish at the state tournament, held at Hutchinson’s Carey Park, made him proud, as the Holadays, Hundley and Stevens have done re­peatedly over their high school ca­reers.

“No doubt those girls hold a spe­cial place in my heart,” he said. “We’ve spent a lot of time together the last three years. And their progress has been wonderful.”

But none have been as special as this year, when the senior team took first place at four tournaments — two Jefferson West-hosted meets at the Village Greens and tournaments at Silver Lake and Paola.

Also, Sarah Holaday took first place in three meets (Silver Lake, Village Greens and Wamego) and shared top honors with cousin Faith at the season-opening two-person scramble at the Village Greens.

Tegethoff said he was “very proud” to see two of his team mem­bers, Stevens and Sarah Holaday, medaling at the state tournament to finish their careers. Stevens shot 91 and finished 17th, while Holaday’s 93-stroke finish was good for 19th place.

“We shot a 390, which is not too far off our best of the year,” he added. “We finished seventh, but we were only four shots out of the top four. So I’m extremely happy with those scores.”

Tegethoff also noted that he was proud of the way the four seniors performed in terms of the size of the varsity team.

“It’s hard to explain how well they did as a team the last two years. They had four golfers, so all four scores had to count in every tourna­ment for two years,” he said. “Other teams had six golfers and used the best four scores. So those teammates counted on each other every time they went out. That’s how special they were to each other and to me.”

Looking ahead, Tegethoff said he sees some junior varsity golfers who have the opportunity to rise through the ranks and replicate, or even bet­ter, the scores of the four who have just finished their careers, including sophomore Olivia McAsey and freshmen Katina Bartel and Lilly Kimberlin.

“Our JV golfers have a special bond as well,” Tegethoff said. “They are pretty close-knit, just like the se­niors are. They enjoy the game and each other. They are also extremely excited about their future.”

In fact, he said, the JV girls are al­ready making plans to practice on the off-season to better their accomplish­ments of this past season.

“They had some scores that were better than some of the regional scores that were out there,” Tegeth­off said. “I’m looking forward to seeing their improvement.”