3rd place — The Central Cougars girls golf team celebrates after claiming third-place at the Class 1A State Golf Tournament in Decatur this weekend. The Cougars were the first golf team in school history to bring home hardware. For the first time in school history, the Central girls golf program brought a State Tournament trophy back home to the halls of Community District 71.
The Lady Cougars had a successful regular season before embarking on a memorable postseason run that began with a regional championship at the Father McGivney Regional. They then claimed second place at the Jacksonville Sectional where they were runners up to a talented Quincy Notre Dame squad.
At the State Tournament on Friday at Red Tail Run Golf Course, four-time defending State Champ Mt. Carmel stormed out to a commanding 13-stroke lead after the first day.
Quincy Notre Dame was in second place with a 329, 13 shots behind the leaders. The Central Lady Cougars were strong in third place with a 332 which was 25 strokes better than fourth place Mater Dei.
“This is a special group of young ladies,” said Central head coach Steve Ellis. “They love playing the game of golf and they are each great teammates. This will be a season that none of us will ever forget.”
The top four spots didn’t change after Saturday’s round with the Aces winning their fifth-straight title with a round of 624. QND ended with a 647 and Central was at 657. MD was in fourth with a 699.
Central’s Maya Kampwerth earned All-State honors with a seventh-place effort overall with a two-day total of 154.
On her first day of work in Decatur, the Aviston native had six pars on the front side and five on the back side with a birdie on hole 14.
On the second day, Kampwerth had birdies on holes four, six and 15. She added 11 pars on the day to end in seventh place overall.
“She’s been our leader all season and Maya has a bright future,” added Ellis. “She works so hard at all phases of the game.”
Up next for the Cougars was senior Lucah Lyons in 18th overall with a 163. On day one she had 11 pars. On the second day, Lyons had eight pars and she birdied hole 16.
Senior Lily Lappe just missed the top 20 with a 23rd-place effort with a two-day score of 167. She had five pars in round one with a birdie three on hole 10. On the second day, the Aviston native had four pars on the front nine and four on the back nine with two birdies coming on holes 11 and 12.
Fellow senior Sophie Markus was tied for 42nd with a two-day score of 173. On day one she had a par on holes five, eight, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18. On day two, she carded nine more pars to be the fourth scorer for CHS.
Central sophomore Mallory Shubert was the fifth scorer for Central with a two-day total of 187 in 71st. The Aviston resident had four pars on Friday and seven more on Saturday.
The final finisher for the Cougars was Riley Schulz in 78th place with a total of 197. Schulz had two pars on the opening round before hitting for four on day two to go along with a birdie on hole 15.
“We had different girls step up and score big rounds for us all season,” concluded Ellis. “This was a true team effort all season long and they kept that effort all weekend as well.”
This was the second-straight season the Cougars made the State Tournament and just the second time in school history.
