Makenna Kincheloe with her conference championship medal.
All three area girls golf teams competed in their respective conference tournaments last week for the final round of competition before the teams set off for districts.
Park Hill senior Makenna Kincheloe was crowned as the Greater KC Subrurban Red Division co-champion after tying Chloe Johnson of Liberty for first overall by shooting an 81 at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville on Oct. 7.
Makenna Kincheloe at the conference tournament on Oct. 7 in Smithville.
Kincheloe improved by four strokes from her performance last year at the conference tournament, when she finished fifth overall at the same course. Consistency was key for Kincheloe this year as she made par on nine of the 18 holes — including six of the last nine — to finish 9-over.
Park Hill concluded second as a team with a 376 score, finishing 13 strokes behind Liberty. Park Hill South came in third of six teams with a 398 score.
Ruby Bell (Park Hill) finished fourth and Tyler Murphy (Park Hill South) finished eighth to earn Red Division all-conference honors, while Kyra Smail (Park Hill) finished ninth to earn all-conference honorable mention.
Platte County earned a second-place finish in the Greater KC White Division, shooting a 423 to edge just ahead of Grain Valley at Eagles Landing Golf Course on Oct. 6 in Belton.
For Platte County, Grace Handke and Naomi Loehner earned White Division all-conference honors while Finnley Dougan and Ainsley Habel were all-conference honorable mention.
While the Pirates were not pleased with how they played in the conference tournament, they set up an improved strategy for the Class 4 District 4 tournament on Oct. 13 at Paradise Pointe, a course they were more familiar with alongside Park Hill and Park Hill South.
Area golfers qualify for state
Four area high school golfers have qualified for the state tournament after making the top-15 cut at the Class 4 District 4 Championship held on Oct. 13 at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville.
Kate Yager and Tyler Murphy of Park Hill South finished eighth and 10th at the district tournament to make qualification for the first time in their careers while Makenna Kincheloe of Park Hill had a fifth-place finish with Ruby Bell also making the cut for the Trojans in 13th place.
Tyler Murphy of Park Hill South makes her final shot at Paradise Pointe on Oct. 13 to secure a spot in the state tournament.
For the Panthers, Yager shot an 86 after 18 holes to end the day 14-over with 10 pars. Murphy trailed closely behind, shooting an 87 on the day to finish 15-over with seven pars.
South finished fifth of 17 teams after shooting 368 as a team. The senior trio of Leah Steitz, Kylie Ziller and Brooke Nichols each concluded their high school golfing careers with a top-30 finish at districts.
Kincheloe was the area’s top performer as she shot an 80 score to end the day 8-over, getting a birdie on holes four and 17 while making eight additional pars. Bell earned qualification with a 13th-place finish after shooting a 91 to finish 19-over, earning six pars and a birdie on hole seven.
Park Hill finished seventh in the district, shooting 387 as a team. Junior Gabby Loya came in 38th place, followed by seniors Kyra Smail in 44th and Claire Conrad in 47th.
Platte County senior Grace Handke finished her high school golfing career at the district tournament on Oct. 13.
Platte County’s season came to an end as they finished 12th overall, shooting 475 as a team. Grace Handke led the Pirates in her final round of her high school career, finishing 38th overall as freshman Naomi Loehner followed behind in making the top-50 while the trio of Finnley Dougan, Grace Gaspers and Ainsley Habel rounded out their sophomore campaigns with a district appearance.
The all-district quartet of Kincheloe, Yager, Murphy and Bell will continue preparations as they move on to the final 36 holes of the season, set to be played during the MSHSAA Class 4 State Championships on Oct. 20-21 at Sedalia Country Club.
Kincheloe returns to the state tournament for the fourth consecutive year. She finished 26th as a freshman, 19th as a sophomore and earned her first all-state medal as a junior finishing 14th overall.
Bell returns to the state competition looking for her first all-state medal as a senior after making her debut last year. Murphy and Yager are set for their first appearance at state, which will serve as the last competition for Yager as a Panther, while Murphy will get another shot next year.