Winfield defeats Wellington girls golf team by 1 stroke in 4A Regional, Crusaders are off to state for 2nd consecutive year
The Crusaders are the 2023 Wellington Class 4A Regional Runner-up.
Taryn Viramontes placed third for Wellington on Monday.
By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Winfield girls got a one-stroke win over the Crusaders in the Class 4A Regional Girls Golf Tournament on a beautiful fall Monday in Wellington.
Wellington shot a cumulative +90 at the 18-hole tournament behind Winfield that won the event with a +89. Both teams will be heading to the two-day Class 4A State Golf Tournament at the Salina Municipal Golf Course next Monday.
Pratt was the third team to qualify with a +116. Other team scores were: 4. Hugoton +148, 5. Andale +161, 6. Mulvane +163, 7. Rose Hill +186, 8. Ulysses +200 (see full results here).
Viramontes, Claire Ginter, and Presley Cornejo finish in the top 10.
Wellington sophomore Taryn Viramontes finished third in a tight three-person race, shooting an 81. Lilli Sympson of Winfield placed first with an 8-over par 78. Avery Blasi of Pratt placed second with an 80.
Claire Ginter, a sophomore, shot an 87 for fourth place. Presley Cornejo, also a sophomore, scored a 96 to finish 10th and receive a medal. Aubrey Hunt rounded out the team scoring with a 96 and 18th place finish.
Wellington head girls golf coach James Ginter states:
“Coach Sawyer and I are extremely proud of our girls and their performance today. We know how badly our girls wanted to perform well today and bring home a second consecutive Regional championship. They have nothing to hang their heads about today. A runner-up performance at regionals is a great accomplishment.”
Aubrey Hunt chips up on the No. 16 green.
He continues:
“There was a lot of pressure on the ladies today to perform well on their home course and defend their Regional title from last year. We didn’t quite have our ‘A’ game today and came up just a little short of our team goal. Today’s experience will benefit us next week when our girls have to deal with similar pressure at the state tournament. We’re young and any experience like this will only benefit us in the future and make us better.”
The Crusaders and Winfield have been going back and forth throughout the season. Wellington won the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Tournament at Hidden Lakes in Derby with Winfield coming in second.
The girls will now be heading to state and will square off with some of the usual competition. Wamego, the defending state champion, will return after beating Topeka Hayden by 11 points in the Wamego Regional. Independence was the winner of the Chanute Regional.
Kenna Maxwell putting on hole No. 18.
Ginter states:
“The Salina Municipal Golf Course is one we have experience with as a program but not much experience with in terms of this team. It’s a great course for our girls and I believe it sets up well for us to be successful. The future forecast looks promising. I think this year’s state tournament is wide open with a number of teams that have a chance at a State title. We’re excited to put our talented team up against other teams from around the state. If you look at the state rankings, you’ll see Topeka Hayden, Wamego, McPherson, Winfield and us at the top of that list. That’s a great place to start. The hardest part is making it to the tournament, after that, it’s whoever plays the best over that today. I think our experience last year at the state tournament is enough motivation for our girls and we’re excited for the opportunity.”
