Snelling repeats as Girls State Golf Champion; Clear Lake girls golf team places second

GHV’s Frayne places third

Clear Lake’s Emily Snelling repeated as State Champion and the Lions placed second in the Class 3A Iowa High School Girls State Golf Championship played at the Goldwater Golf Links in Ames.

Snelling, a junior who won the title last year in a play-off, the led the field from start to finish.  Her two day total of a two-under par ( 73-67) 140 is the third lowest in school history.

Snelling defeated runner-up Brooke Newell, a junior from Atlantic, by 11 strokes.  Newell carded rounds of 85 and 69 to finish with a 165.  Garner-Hayfield-Ventura’s Bailee Frayne finished in third place.  The sophomore opened with an 84 and fired an 81 on day two for a 165.

“This was a great way for Bailee to finish her season,” said GHV Coach Matt Greiman.  “Her short game was critical to getting a good score on Tuesday and she became more confident with her driver on Wednesday, which allowed her to post some low numbers.”

Atlantic won the team championship with a two-day total of 696. Clear Lake finished second with a 736.

“This season has been one to remember for the girls golf program this year,” said an elated Coach Adam Brinkman.  “These girls have worked their tails off every day at practice. From day one until the final day of the State tournament, every girl has made tremendous improvements throughout the whole year and it definitely shows as the scores were dropping, and we shot our lowest rounds of the year at the State tournament.”

Snelling played a great all-around game to win the State title in impressive fashion.  Coach Brinkman noted Snelling’s putter has been one of her biggest struggles during the regular season and she spent countless hours on getting her putter dialed in before tournament play.

“This course fits her really well,” said Brinkman.  “It’s not a very long course for her for how far she hits the ball, and there are a lot of opportunities to make some low scores. She stayed out of trouble both days, and never had a single penalty stroke either day, so she was hitting the ball very well and the putts were dropping on day two. She works so hard on her golf game, and she is only getting better and stronger day by day. She has a bright future ahead.”

And while Snelling was always expected to return to State, her team was not considered a threat.

Brinkman noted that heading into the Regional final, the Lions were not projected to make it out as a team based off of the scores.  So to not only win, but by the margin they did, was a great boost heading into the State Tournament play.

“I can tell you right now that obviously we had a team goal to get to the State Tournament, but none of these girls thought they would be sitting in the circle with the runner up trophy. It really shows them that putting in the extra hard work every single day does pay off in the long run,” he said.

The Lions set themselves up for success with a good practice round the day before State.

“I knew that we would be prepared for the course heading into the first day of play,” said Brinkman.

Day one was a good day for the Lions.  They hit the ball well as a team and, for the most part, stayed out of trouble. The coach said his team was a little sluggish toward the end of the day and some of the girls had to play the last two or three holes in a down pour of

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rain.

“Heading into day two we played with the same mind set,” said Brinkman.  “We knew that the scores were going to be lower compared to day one, so we went out and played our golf game, as every single shot would matter.  A couple of the girls may not have shot their best rounds on day two, but as a team we were able to stay in that second place position with the help of other girls stepping up.”

Freshman Ashley DeLong made a huge splash at State, finishing in a tie for 11th with an (89-89) 178.

“Ashley was only a freshman this year and is one the most consistent golfers that I have ever known,” said Brinkman.  “For her to place 11th at that age was a great thing to see for her heading into next year. Her goal was to finish top 10, but this is only going to make her work even harder this off-season.”

Sophomore Jordyn Barragy also made the most of her time at State.  Barragy opened with a 101, good enough to place her in the top 10 on day one.  Her day two score of 104 put her in a tie for 37th overall with 205.

“Jordyn may have had some up and downs this season, but she never gave up. She is one of those girls that no matter what is happening she wont give up until its over, and I know that if she continues to work at it that she will find that right step to getting rid of the flaws,” said Coach Brinkmann.

Two other freshman rounded out Clear Lake’s team score.  Erin Carew finished with a (106-107) 213 to place 46th and Mattie Krause had a (119-107) 226, good for 51st.

“Mattie and Erin worked hard no matter with what they were struggling with.  They battled every round one shot at a time. When they would have a terrible hole they would come right back with a good one and that is one drive that both these girls always had,” said the coach.  “They both are only going to continue to get better, and I know will see a great difference next year.”

Also competing at State was Marissa Olk, the only senior on the team, who filled in for the injured Carson Frahm.

“She didn’t have her best round of golf on day one, but we had a great goal for her to finish her career with the lowest round of the season,” said Brinkman.  “Not only did she shoot her lowest round of the season on day two, but she also shot her lowest round of her career, so that was a great way for her to end her career.”  Olk finished with a (131-125) 256, placing her 55th.

“We were a young team this year, with five of the six girls returning.  I know that with this second place finish this year it will make these girls continue to want to even get better next year,” added Brinkmann.

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