Prairie View sophomore Harley Wade lines up a putt at the state Class 3-1A girls golf tournament. (Prairie View USD 362 Facebook page)
By Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com
EMPORIA – Prairie View golfer Harley Wade shot a 6-over-par 77 at the state Class 3-1A girls golf tournament on Tuesday to win a third place medal. It was the sophomore golfer’s second state medal in two years.
And while a third-place finish at state is an achievement enough on its own, Wade’s recruitment efforts since the 2023 tournament helped create a five-woman team that not only placed fourth in the Pioneer League tournament but fifth place in the regional tournament on Oct. 14 at Caney Country Club.
As a freshman last year, Wade was the lone golfer representing Prairie View at the league, regional and state level. And while none of her teammates scored well enough to qualify five total players for the state meet this year, the fact that the Lady Buffalos were posting team scores was a significant turnabout from the 2023 season.
And while PVHS Activities Director Mark Hough acted as golf coach for the 2023 season, Roger Wade, Harley’s father, was drafted to coach the newly formed team this fall. While Roger Wade is a Rule 10 coach, which means he is not a certified teacher who is able to coach any school activity, his expertise in coaching golf is undeniable.
Wade has coached his daughter since she was 5 years old. He has guided her as she spent summers competing in the Drive, Chip & Putt and U.S. Kids Golf tournaments, often traveling out of state to compete.
Members of the Prairie View girls golf team include, from left Addyson Woodrum, Grace Ray, Macie Britz, Mary Jane Britz, and Harley Wade.
Hough said that Prairie View had worked with other schools to create a sort of junior varsity competition for girls who were new to the sport. Even for the experienced, golf can be a very frustrating game, and it took time for members of the Prairie View girls team to develop their skills, to enter the varsity tournaments for the Pioneer League and the regional tournaments.
On Monday, Wade shot a 9-over-par 80 on the first day of the two-day state tourney at the par 71 Emporia Municipal Golf Course. It was third best of the 56 golfers who made the cut, and she teed off again on Tuesday, this time shaving four strokes off in round two with a 6-over-par 77, to end the tourney with a total score of 157.
Competition in the top 10 golfers was intense with Amelia Bowles from Rawlins County in far western Kansas taking first place by shooting par on the first day and ending with 147 strokes for the tournament. Margaret Ulrich of Collegiate High School in Wichita placed second with a score of 148.
Wade qualified for the state with a second-place finish at the regional tournament at the Caney Golf Club on Oct. 14 under conditions that were described as being brutal with strong winds and high temperatures.
Only one golfer broke the 80s on the par 71 course, and Wade shot a 91. Mary Jane Britz placed 29th, Grace Ray was 34th, Addyson Woodrum was 40th and Macie Britz was 45th. The team took fifth place.
The first tournament of the season in which all five Prairie View golfers participated was the Pioneer League meet on Oct. 8. Wade placed first in the tournament by shooting a 74 at the 71-par Osawatomie Municipal Golf Course. All of the seven league schools fielded teams except for Burlington.
Lady Buffalo golfers Mary Jane Britz and her sister Macie Britz placed 13th and 14th respectively in that tournament. Ray was 17th and Woodrum was 21st. The combined schools gave Prairie View a fourth-place team finish.
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