Brown struggles at State

CHENEY -- Fort Scott High School senior Kacie Brown finished in a tie for 47th place here Monday at the Class 4A State Golf Tournament.

Brown shot 51 on the front nine and 54 on the back to finish with a total of 105.

According to head coach Karen Curran, Brown had some trouble on three of the first four holes on the front nine but regrouped on No. 5.

" Not a great score, but she typically plays better on the second nine, so we were hopeful that she would post a lower back nine score," Curran said.

No. 10 was a long par-5 and Brown's tee shot didn't go where she hoped.

"From that point on it was really hard to stay focused and confident," Curran said. "Kacie still had several great shots on the day, but she just couldn't consistently find her stroke and timing to put several shots together to get back on track. I'm very proud of her for keeping her composure in a difficult environment. She did the best she could do and she did a great job of representing herself, her family, and FSHS.

"As a four-year member of the golf team, her presence, leadership, and friendship will be greatly missed next year."

Jacie Sheer of Cheney won the tournament on her home course, shooting 37-39--76. She capped her career with her third State medal after finishing tied for 20th in 2008 at Cheney and sixth last season at Hutchinson.

Brooke LaRue of Topeka-Hayden, last year's champion, finished second at 43-36--79. She was fourth here in 2008. Tayler Shellhammer of Cheney won her first State medal with a third-place score of 41-40--81.

Chanute's Taylor Gard, the Southeast Kansas League champion, finished sixth at 43-41--84. Teammate Amy Weilert was eighth at 40-45--85. Columbus' Kaylee Keck also medaled as her 47-42--89 tied for 15th. Girard's Timbrelee McNair was 20th at 44-48--92.

Andale won its first State golf title with a four-woman score of 366, just two strokes ahead of Meriden-Jefferson West. Chanute was third at 377 while Girard finished 10th at 414.

The top 20 finishers plus tied and the top three teams earned medals.