Tigers finish third in preparation for Regional

Thursday, October 9, 2008

GARNETT -- Cassie Organ finished in second place here Wednesday at the Anderson County Invitational, which had been postponed a couple of days due to rain.

Ogran's finish helped lead Fort Scott to third place at a tournament which included five schools that will be here again Monday for the Anderson County Class 4A Regional Tournament.

"It was a great team effort," Fort Scott head coach Karen Curran said. "They were able to drop 24 strokes off the team total from the last 18-hole tournament at Crestwood. I'm especially proud of how they've bounced back after a dismal showing at Columbus last Thursday. Several of the girls shot season and career rounds yet again, which goes to show that they work hard to continue to improve, not only to help themselves, but mostly to help the team achieve their goals."

Elaine Tastove of Anderson County shot 41 on the front nine and 40 on the back to finish with a field-leading score of 81. Ogran shot 45-48--93 to win her third medal with her highest placing of the season.

"Cassie really showed what she is capable of doing in competition," Curran said. " Consistency is still the key. But hopefully she gained some very much needed confidence and can build on the success that she had and continue on through Monday. Both nines were career lows and the 93 is her best by 12 strokes from last season."

Fort Scott's next-best score was Dana Ballou's 54-54--108, which was her career best over 18 holes. Katie Bristley followed with a 57-56--113, career lows for each nine and the 18 holes in total. Her score was 27 strokes better than at Crestwood on Sept. 30.

"Dana was very consistent today," Curran said. "This is exactly what we need out of Dana. She also recovered well from some penalty strokes to post really good scores.

"Katie has worked very hard the last couple of weeks to regain her swing and confidence off the tee box."

Morgan Morasch was next at 58-57--115. All three scores were career bests for her. Kacie Brown shot 57-59--116 and Shelby Blackburn finished at 66-63--129.

"It was (Morasch's) score that broke the tie between us and Girard," Curran said. "This was her most successful day on the golf course in her two seasons so far.

"There were a couple of holes that Kacie took some penalty strokes on that took her out of her game a little, but she's learned to leave those holes behind and focus on what's ahead. I think (Blackburn will) be motivated to prove on Monday that she's much better than what she showed yesterday."

Monday's Regional will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a shotgun start.

Team Scores

1. Anderson County (AN) 413 (Tastove 81, S.Holloran 93, Falke 113, K.Holloran 125), 2. Council Grove (CG) 418 (Downs 95, Keplar 101, Peterson 106, Vondemkamp 116), 3. Fort Scott (FS) 429 (Ogran 93, Ballou 108, Bristley 113, Morasch 115, Brown 116),

4. Girard (G) 429 (McLeod 100, Westhoff 103, Viets 107, Jarboe 119, Herlocker 120), 5. Carbondale-Santa Fe Tail (SFT) 432 (Colston 100, Anderson 105, Miller 112, Elliott 115), 6. Parsons 527 (Wilson 119, Woods 128, Kay 139, Ellis 141),

7. Marmaton Valley 535 (McEndree 126, Trollope 129, Jones 136, Jackman 144).

Medalists

1. Elaine Tastove, AC, 41-40--81; 2. Cassie Ogran, FS, 45-48--93; 3. Sarah Holloran, AC, 45-49--94; 4. Rhiannon Downs, CG, 46-49--95; 5. Brittney Shaw, Eureka, 46-52--98;

6. Christy Colston, SFT, 51-49--100; 7. Starr McLeod, G, 54-46--100; 8. Megan Keplar, CG, 52-49--101; 9. tessa Westhoff, G, 52-51--103; 10. Hailey Anderson, SFT, 58-47--105.