Snelling reigns

(Above) Three area girls were among the Top 10 at the Class 3A State Golf Meet. Clear Lake’s Emily Snelling (first girl front row), captured the title; GHV’s Bailee Frayne (first girl back row), placed sixth; and Clear Lake’s Ashley Delong (second girl back row), placed seventh.  -Photo courtesy of Cheila Frayne

Results of Class 3A State Golf Meet

Clear Lake’s Emily Snelling earned her third straight State title and helped her team to a third place finish in Class 3A at the Iowa Girls High School State Meet played Tuesday and Wednesday, May 30-31, at Lake Panorama.

Snelling’s amazing feat was even more impressive because the senior sat out almost all of the regular season recovering from January surgery to repair a torn ACL.

She ended day one of the tourney in a tie for the lead, but went on to win by five strokes over Brook Newell, of Atlantic.  The duo separated themselves from the rest of the field from the start, each opening with rounds of 70.  Snelling added a 71 on day two for a three under par 141, while Newell fell off the pace with a 76 to finish with a 141.  Morgan Weber, fro Dike-New Hartford, was third with a 160.

Bailee Frayne, a senior from Garner-Hayfield-Ventura, was sixth, carding a (83-86)169.  Clear Lake’s Ashley DeLong also finished in the top 10.  She finished with a (87-84) 171, good for seventh place.

Atlantic won the team title with 689.  New Hampton was second with 700 and Clear Lake placed third with a score of 722.

“Heading into day one of the State Tournament we knew that there were eight solid teams that could shoot low, and so we would have to play well all 36 holes to be the top team,” said Clear Lake Coach Adam Brinkman.  “The biggest thing in two-day tournaments is to put yourselves in good position heading into day two, and although we didn’t play our best on day one, we knew we still had a chance to move up.”

The Lions were sitting in third place after the first day of competition.

“Our focus over these two days was playing one shot at a time and forgetting about what happened in the past,” explained Coach Brinkman. “After last season’s runner up finish at the State Tournament, these girls knew what they were capable of if we put our minds to it. We tend to get down on ourselves during the middle of the rounds, and I thought we did a great job of not letting the bad shots get to us and moving on to the next ones.”

Coach Brinkman said the Lake Panorama course was set up perfectly for Snelling’s long hitting ability, and at one point was sitting at -5 par. 

“She has been primarily focused on getting her swing down, was a little frustrated because she let some putts get away from her, but when her final putt went in on the 36th, she was able to forget the negatives and enjoy the moment that only seven other golfers in the State of Iowa have been able to accomplish.”

DeLong made a strong comeback to place seventh as a sophomore.  She was nine over after the first eight holes and finished the last 10 holes at only three over par.

“That’s the kind of player she is, even when she wasn’t playing well she was able to turn her game around and have a great finish,” said Coach Brinkman.

Jordyn Barragy was next with a (102-102) 204 to finished in 33rd place.

“Lake Panorama is a tricky and challenging golf course and unfortunately Jordyn didn’t have the rounds that she knew she could of had,” said the coach.  “When one part of her game was working well, she was struggling to find another part.  Unfortunately that is the game of golf, and heading into this off season Jordyn’s main goal will be getting more consistent in all aspects of the game.”

Mattie Krause was also consistent, finishing in 35th place overall with identical rounds of 103.  She rounded out the team score with a 206.

“Mattie had a good two days of consistent play. She was hitting the ball extremely well, and unfortunately got into some unlucky breaks that cost her a couple holes. She has made great strides all season long,” said Brinkman.

Erin Carew and Grace Hartnett each got their first taste of State golf and went home with good experience.  Carew was 47th with

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a (112-107) 219 and Hartnett placed 52nd with a (119-120) 239.

“Erin hit the ball pretty good, but just couldn’t get her putter working.  She had a great work ethic this year, was always finding ways to get better,” said Coach Brinkman.  “Grace has only been playing golf for a couple years, and although she didn’t have her best performance at the State Tournament, it was a great experience for her.”

Even though the Lions didn’t get the outcome they were hoping for, the coach said the outcome doesn’t show the amount of work and progress Lions have made since last season.

“Five out of the six girls  averaged four to 10 strokes better per nine holes than last season.  That shows how much work they put in not only during golf season but also in the off season, and that is great to see as a coach. These girls were always finding ways to get better at any aspect of the game, and that is what earned them the third place finish. When the rounds weren’t going the way they would want it to, they would always battle until the end and never gave up.”

In addition to Bailee Frayne’s sixth place finish, her sister Carlee, was 25th with a (95-97) 192.

“Lake Panorama is a very challenging course and the scores for the entire field reflected that,” said GHV Coach Todd Greiman.  “Bailee was hoping to place as well or better than last year, but a couple of holes on both days hurt her.”  Frayne finished in third at the 2016 State Meet.

“This was a great learning experience for Carlee,” added Greiman.  “She had to deal with a number of challenges on both days that will help her get better in the long run.  I think both girls were a little disappointed in their play, but when they both re-think how well their seasons went, that disappointment will fade.”

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