Watch Topeka West’s Alonzo eagle hole 18 to cap off regional title
Topeka West’s Myles Alonzo eagled hole 18 at Cypress Ridge to highlight his regional championship victory on Monday. He shot a 4-under round of 66 to break the Topeka West school record, too.
The Topeka area was well-represented in the KSHSAA boys golf state championships this week. The two-day tournament began on Tuesday, with things finishing on Wednesday. The top six teams and 15 individuals from each classification advanced to Wednesday’s round.
Here’s everything that happened to Shawnee County golfers in the final tournament of the year:
Hayden challenges for Class 4A title
It was a big day for Hayden in the Class 4A State Championship at San Creek Station Golf Course in Newton. The Wildcats entered Wednesday’s round in second place, down seven strokes to Wamego.
The deficit didn’t stunt any comeback for Hayden in the final round. The Wildcats climbed back, taking the lead with just a few holes remaining, but Wamego’s top players were able to hit some key shots, which included an eagle on No. 16 to seal the team title. Wamego won the team championship by three shots over Hayden.
It was still an impressive day for the Wildcats. James Kuta, a senior, fired rounds of 77 and 75 to claim fourth place overall. He finished with a two-day total of 8-over par. Tagen Rodriguez followed in ninth place, with Colin Scott tying for 11th. Nick Gorman tied for 19th while Mateo Garcia earned 29th, and Austin Bean finished in 42nd place.
Cleverdon, Donovan lead Shawnee County in Class 2A
Cair Paravel’s Caleb Cleverdon and Rossville’s Jack Donovan paced Shawnee County in the Class 2A State Championship at Turkey Creek Golf Course in McPherson.
The two golfers tied for sixth place, shooting a two-day score of 15-over par. Both players shot a round of 76 in the first round and fired a 79 on Wednesday. Rossville’s Jonathan Hart was the only other player from the Bulldawgs to compete. He earned a medal, tying for 15th place with a 22-over-par score.
Led by Cleverdon, Cair Paravel secured fourth place in the team standings. They were 21 strokes behind Hoxie for third place. Salina Sacred Heart won the state title by 17 shots over second-place Syracuse.
Jase Pavlik, Luke Budden, Chase Hastert, Blaine Durbin, and Brady Budden rounded out Cair Parable’s state tournament team.
Monasmith paces Washburn Rural in Class 6A
Washburn Rural qualified three players for day two of the Class 6A State Championship at Quail Ridge Golf Course in Winfield. The team was close to reaching day two, but failed to qualify as they finished the first day in seventh place. They missed the day two team qualification by 10 shots.
Tagan Monasmith, Higgins Hawks, and Michael Wilson did enough individually to reach the second day of the tournament. Monasmith, a senior, was the top player for the Junior Blues, tying for 34th place with a two-day score of 11-over par. Hawks was one shot behind Monasmith while Wilson tied for 39th with a 13-over par score.
Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@gannett.com
