Pictured: Salina South girls golf coach Jason Hooper

In eight seasons as Salina South girls golf coach, Jason Hooper has learned to measure success not only by numbers on the Cougars’ scorecards, but also by the number of players on his roster.

“Every year, you kind of go out and try to recruit a few new kids and keep it going,” said Hooper, whose Cougars completed their season earlier this week with two individual state tournament qualifiers. “Without having a junior high program, sometimes you don’t really know exactly what you’re going to have until they get here.”

South had 11 players total on this roster, with the varsity made up entirely of juniors, which bodes well for next year as well. While the Cougars fell short of qualifying for the 5A state tournament as a team, Addi Johnson and Elli Reed both advanced as individuals Monday and Tuesday at Hesston Golf Course.

Johnson, who led South most of the season, survived the cut Monday after shooting a first-round 93, then climbed the leader board on Tuesday with an 83 to finish tied for 22nd at 178, just two strokes short of a top 20 individual medal.

“Addi was really good the second day,” Hooper said. “She had the 12th best score in the whole tournament on the second day. For her to climb back and get herself in contention for a medal on day two after what she would probably consider a disappointing day one was great.”

Reed, a former South tennis player, qualified for state in her first year with the team but did not make the cut, finishing in a tie for 78th with a first-round score of 117.

“She didn’t play as well as she would have liked, but she probably didn’t expect to make it to state, to be honest,” Hooper said. “She had a great day in the regional and got herself in there, and she took advantage of the opportunity and gained the experience.”

“She looks forward to having the chance to go back again next year, hopefully with the team.”

South’s team highlight for the season came in the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division I tournament at Salina Municipal Golf Course, where the Cougars finished second to Maize South with a four-person score of 385. Johnson led the way in that tournament, finishing fifth with a round of 90, while Jessie Durr took seventh at 96, Abby Saner eighth at 98 and Brylee Spratlen tied for 13th, one spot out of a medal, with a 101. Reed (106) and Moriah Martinez (132) rounded out the team.

“I think it was a successful season,” Hooper said. “We had 11 girls on our team, and it’s always good when you can have double-digit numbers in girls golf.”

“I was happy with getting kids to the state tournament.”

Salina Central program grows numbers

Building a full roster has been a challenge for Salina Central, but this season third-year coach Alyssa Waldron saw the number double from the previous season with eight golfers.

Senior Braelyn Diggs finished her high school career on a high note by qualifying for the state tournament after claiming seventh-place medalist honors at the Maize South sub-state.

Diggs, who will continue her golf career next year at Kansas Wesleyan, fell short of the first-day cut at state with a round of 117, but shot a 93 in the sub-state tournament.

Rounding out Central’s sub-state team were sophomore Reagan Kraft, juniors Brecklyn Smith and Eden Arb, and senior Azlan Presnell.

“We had enough for a team, and we actually did some junior varsity,” said Central athletic director Greg Maring. “That’s always been Alyssa’s goal, to have enough to take a team to the postseason.”

“And we’ve got a good number of kids coming back next year.”