Jayhawk golfers Camryn Thomas and Celeste Schnieder competed at the State Girls Golf tournament at Hesston in October. (Photo submitted by Todd Schneider)
By Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com
Jayhawk-Linn sophomore Celeste Schneider had one goal this year at the Class 3-1A State Girl Golf tournment in Hesston: Improve over the 25th-place finish she had at the state tournament her freshman year.
Goal accomplished. Schneider shot a 36-over-par 177 for ninth place and a medal during the two day tourney on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 16-17.
Jayhawk senior Camryn Thomas also qualified for the state tournament like she did in 2022.
But her first round didn't go as well as hoped.
Thomas shot par on the first hole, but started to pickup bogeys as the round progressed. She shot 19-over-par on the front nine and couldn't recover on the last nine holes. She ended up with a 42-over-par for the round, missing the cut for the second round as did 32 other girls in the competition.
Schneider also had a bumpy start on round one, although she managed to recover for a 16-over-par 87 for the round.
She made par on three of the front nine holes for a 9-over-par 44. She improved on the back nine, making par on four greens for a 7-over-par 43. She entered round two in eighth place.
Schneider started Tuesday out well, shooting a 7-over-par on the front nine. That included shooting par on four of the nine holes.
Rushed by another player on the 10th hole, she had a temporary meltdown, but Schneider rebounded on the remaining eight holes, sinking a birdie putt on 14 and making par putts on the final two holes. Her final score on round two was 90, 19 over par.
Schneider, who in addition to being coached by Jayhawk coach Eric Thomas, is a student of Sally Krystyn, the head golf pro at Brookridge Country Club in Overland Park. She said that in addition to the high school girls golf in the fall, she plays in tournaments throughout the summer, and that because of that, she didn't feel undue pressure at the state tournament.
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