Practice Makes Perfect; VanArragon Wins AAA Girls as a 7th-Grader

June 14, 2018 | 5 min.


By Mike Fermoyle (mikefermoyle@gmail.com)

COON RAPIDS -- If you mention Kathryn VanArragon's name at Bunker Hills GC, you're almost guaranteed to get this response: "No one practices more than she does. She's at the course all the time." 

All of that practice paid off this week, as the Blaine seventh-grader took advantage of playing her home course and became the youngest player ever to win a Minnesota state high school individual championship in golf.

She said afterward that she really didn't have any thoughts of winning the Class AAA individual medal before the tournament started. But she grabbed the lead with a 2-under-par 70 at Bunker Hills on Tuesday in the first round, and she sealed the deal on Wednesday with a 73. Her 36-hole aggregate of 143 was good for a three-stroke victory.

VanArragon nearly posted the best score of the day both days. The only two players to better her 73 on Wednesday were Aayushi Sarkar of Woodbury and Isabella McCauley of Simley. Both shot 72.

With her 72, Sarkar moved up into a tie for second-place at 146, along with Molly Stevens (74) of Northfield. 

Stevens is a junior, and Sarkar a sophomore, but they seemed almost like grizzled veterans, because they were the only two girls among the top six finishers whose grade level is shown with two digits.

Chanhassen's Madi HIcks, who is an eighth-grader, turned in a 73 and finished alone in fourth place at 147. Next, at 149, was Camille Kuznik, a ninth-grader from Orono, and Simley's McCauley, who took sixth with a 150, is another eighth-grader. 

McCauley, who is ranked No. 2 in the state, behind Red Wing's Sophia Yoemans (who won the Class AA crown this week at The Ridges at Sand Creek with a record-setting two-day total of 129), couldn't get anything going on Tuesday. She missed eight putts between 4 and 7 feet and shot 78 -- her worst score of the spring by five shots. But she bounced back nicely with the 72.

"Today, I made some putts," she said.  

The first senior you encounter in the final standings is Lakeville North's Megan Welch, in seventh place at 151 (72-79). 

"That's amazing, isn't it," marvelled Lynn Anderson, the Edina coach. "So many young players." 

Anderson's Hornets had just won their fourth consecutive AAA team championship -- and their 12th overall -- but it wasn't nearly as easy as most people thought it would be. Edina was never challenged all spring -- until it got to Bunker Hills this week and encountered a very young -- and talented -- Roseville team.

"Roseville is very good, and we struggled," Anderson lamented. "I don't know what it was, but everything started going wrong on Tuesday."

Among other things, Edina's top player, Joanna Kim, this year's Ms. Minnesoa Golf (the high school female player of the year), was getting readings from her Range Finder that  were in meters, not yards, and she wasn't aware of that early on. 

"She kept mis-clubbing," Anderson said. "Then, I think it was on the seventh tee, she asked the girls she was playing with what kind of yardages they were getting. That was when she realized what the problem was, and she managed to shoot 76. That was crucial. We needed that kind of score from Joanna just to stay within range of Roseville."   

Kim's younger sister Janice and Emily Kratz both shot 76 on Wednesday, and that was the difference. Edina came from three behind to win by two with a combined 638. Roseville was second with a 640, and Lakeville North third at 645. 

It may sound strange, but good players often feel more pressure in sectional tournaments than they do at the state meet, and VanArragon said that was definitely true in her case. In the Section 5AAA tournament at The Links at North Fork, she shot 77-84--161 and finished tied for fourth, 10 shots behind the medalist -- fellow seventh-grader Olivia Salonek of Roseville. 

"I was pretty nervous," VanArragon said. "Once I got here, anything I did was a bonus. So I was more relaxed."

She was also on her home course, and she got off to a great start Tuesday. On Wednesday, she started off with four pars but made bogeys on the fifth (No. 5 East) and eighth holes. She said she still wasn't feeling all that much pressure at that point, but she conceded that making a 30-foot birdie putt at the ninth hole bolstered her confidence. 

"I was never really worried," she said, "but that (the birdie) did help."

VanArragon hits her tee shots in the 215- to 220-yard range, and she has enough length to reach quite a few par-5's in two. But she prefers to play safe and lay up most of the time, which is what she did at the 430-yard, par-5 11th (No. 2 West). She hit a 40-yard wedge to 5 feet and made the birdie putt. Two bogeys followed, but at the 15th hole, she hit an 8-iron to 5 feet and converted the birdie putt. That pretty much settled the issue.

The format at the state tournament calls for the individual competitors to go out first, followed by the team competition. Consequently, VanArragon had to sit around and wait a couple of hours after she finished before her victory became official.

"It wasn't that bad," she said of the wait. "I spent most of the time talking to my coach."     


GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL GOLF

State Tournament

Class AAA

At Bunker Hills GC

Par 72

Coon Rapids

Final results 


1. Edina                       321-317--638

2. Roseville                 318-322--640

3. Lakeville North        325-320--645

4. Chanhassen            334-333--667

5. Woodbury                334-342--676

6. Buffalo                     347-350--697

7. Stillwater                 356-359--715

8. Forest Lake             352-370--722

Individuals

1. Kathryn VanArragon, Blaine                70-73--143

T2. Molly Stevens, Northfield                  72-74--146

T2. Aayushi Sarkar, Woodbury               74-72--146

4. Madi Hicks, Chanhassen                    74-73--147

5. Camille Kuznik, Orono                       72-77--149

6. Isabella McCauley, Simley                 78-72--150

7. Megan Welch, Lakeville North            72-79--151

8. Emma Welch, Lakeville North            77-75--152




 

Contact Us

Contact Us

6550 York Avenue South, Suite 411 • Edina, MN 55435 • (952) 927-4643 • (800) 642-4405 • Fax: (952) 927-9642
© 2024 Minnesota Golf Association. All Rights Reserved