Last year, the Lisbon girls’ golf team missed out on a state tournament spot by one stroke.
On Wednesday, May 21, the Lions won Class 3A Region 4 by one stroke, and punched their ticket to the 3A State Meet this week in Solon.
“It is special,” Lisbon Coach Andy Kahl said. “Not only going to state, but winning the regional.
“It was a sour taste last year and I think the girls still feel that. So, I’m happy for them.”
Lisbon carded a 353 round Wednesday at Stone Creek Golf Course in Williamsburg. The hosts finished one shot back at 354, and also qualified for the state meet.
“We knew we had a really good shot at making it,” sophomore Carie Johnson said. “We knew it was going to be super close, and we knew that we all had to just do our part.”
Johnson has seen her game grow during the season to become a reliable third score behind senior Eryn Jackson and sophomore Kyla Kahl.
In fact, Johnson was meet medalist on Monday, May 19, in a quadrangular at Solon, where the Lions beat the Spartans by nine strokes. The Spartans had won the Wamac Super Meet a week earlier.
“That gave us a lot of confidence, winning that,” Johnson said.
“It gave us a good gage on what kind of team we had,” Coach Kahl said.
At the Region 4 meet, Jackson finished runner-up with an 84 and Kyla Kahl tied for fifth with an 87. Both would have advanced as individuals, had the Lions not qualified as a team.
But Lisbon did, counting Johnson’s 90 and sophomore Avery Thurns’s 92. Junior Grace Bausch carded a 93 and junior Abby Bock a 100.
“That was a total team performance,” Coach Kahl said. “From one to six. This is phenomenal.”
Thurn said it can be stressful knowing the team is counting on her for a good round to finish off the team score.
“It’s a lot of pressure; I’m not going to lie,” Thurn said. “Most of the time, we know what the top 3 girls are going to shoot.
“But I just have to remember to focus. Every shot is a new one. You can’t dwell on the past.”
Thurn and all the Lions were all keeping close watch on their phones, tracking scores on the app to see if they had pulled it off.
“I try not to look at the scores when we’re golfing,” Johnson said. “When we’re done it is really nice to see.”
Coach Kahl doesn’t forbid phones on the course, and trusts his golfers to be smart.
“I tell the kids, don’t be score-watching,” Kahl said. “Focus on your score, don’t worry about what everyone else is shooting.
“But it is hard not to look. It is right there. I think we’ve got smart enough girls that realize where their focus needs to be at.”
The 3A State Meet is Thursday, May 29 and Friday, May 30, at Saddleback Ridge Golf Course in Solon.
Of the 10 teams qualified, Lisbon ranks fifth in 18-hole average with a 348.8 score. Above them are Cedar Rapids Xavier (326.29), Dubuque Wahlert (329.50), MOC-Floyd Valley (337.00) and Gilbert (341.00).
“I don’t think we want to be the favorites,” Coach Kahl said. “We want to be an underdog, under-the-radar. The course is 15 minutes down the road and we’re going to use that to our advantage.
“It is a great opportunity, especially for our fans to show up.”
Class 3A Region 4
Team cards – 1. Lisbon 353; 2. Williamsburg 354; 3. Clear Creek Amana 372; 4. Solon 380; 5. Dike-New Hartford 392; 6. Ballard 415; 7. Bondurant-Farrar 443; 8. North Polk 445; 9. Hampton-Dumont-CAL 502. Also: Grinnell, Saydel, Washington.
Top 6 – 1. Brooklyn Lee (CCA) 79; 2. (tie) Kenzi Driscoll (Wburg) 84, Eryn Jackson (Lisbon) 84, Seeri Smith (DNH) 84; 5. Kyla Kahl (Lisbon) 87; 6. (tie) Izzy Frees (Solon) 88, Kelley Kauten (DNH) 88.
LISBON – 2. Jackson 84, 5. Kahl 87, 12. Carie Johnson 90, 14. Avery Thurn 92, 15. Grace Bausch 93, 24. Abby Bock 100.
WILLIAMSBURG – 2. Driscoll 84, 8. Rubianne Allison 89, 11. Claire Kleinmeyer 90, 13. Mallory Jones 91, 16. Jenna Yearian 93, 20. Demi Horvath 97.
Solon quadrangular
Team cards – 1. Lisbon 173; 2. Solon 182; 3. North Scott 196; 4. Central DeWitt 241.
Medalist – Sydney Dee (Solon) 40. Runner-up – Carie Johnson (Lisbon) 42.
Lisbon (173) – Johnson 42, Eryn Jackson 43, Kyla Kahl 44, Abby Bock 44, Avri Trumblee-Looney 51.