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Get to know 'em: Tigers sending golfers to State
Fort Scott High School's girls' golf team will be sending its entire varsity squad to the Class 4A State Tournament at Cheney on Monday. Team members are seniors Cassie Ogran, Katie Bristley, Dana Ballou and Morgan Morasch, junior Shelby Blackburn and sophomore Kacie Brown.
Karen Curran has been the head coach since the program's inception in 2001. Since then, Fort Scott has qualified at least one player for each State Tournament each year with the exception of 2005. This will be the third time the Tigers have qualified as a team, joining the 2002 and 2003 teams. However, this will be Fort Scott's largest contingent at a State Tournament as the previous team qualifiers had only four players.
The Tigers placed ninth as a team in 2002 and eighth in 2003. This is the first time Fort Scott has qualified as a team since then. The six-person contingent is also the most the Tigers have sent to State since three players went in 2004.
Curran says that the Tigers may not know when they'll tee off or who they will be grouped with until Friday. Rain delayed a Regional at Clay Center until today.
"We won't know until some point on Friday who all of our competitors are," Curran said. "It doesn't really matter but you kind of want to know and plan and know what your tee times are. Will we be on the first tee or the 10th tee. It kind of helps being able to plan ahead."
When the Tribune talked to the players Wednesday afternoon (see their thoughts below), they seemed confident for at least a high finish for the team
"That's good to hear from them," Curran said. "I'm glad they feel that way. When you see the results from one of the Regionals and you see we would have finished third behind Andover and Cheney, that's pretty good competition. So if they continue to play like we've been playing, there's no reason why they can't go out there and finish in the top half.
"And it's a no-lose situation, honestly, when you get to that level. There are different variables that affect how kids play at that level. Experience always helps but these kids are so novice that maybe their lack of experience at that level will be good for them also. They won't know to be nervous off the first tee box. Anything's possible at this point."
Grade: Senior.
Years on varsity: 3
| Stats | 2008 | Career |
| Tournaments | 9 | 25 |
| Medals | 4 | 7 |
| Best finish | 2nd | 2nd |
| Low score, 9 | 45 | 45 |
| Low score, 18 | 109 | 105 |
About the sudden-death playoff at Regionals: I was on the green in two and then I got par on the hole, four overall. The other girls was on the green, I think, by six and pretty much bowed out when I got on the green...There wasn't really any pressure on me and I think that was why I did well. I knew I was going to State no matter what. I could just play how I needed to play.
Her State goals: I'm hoping to be in the top 50 percent. I don't want to set a goal that's too high but I want at least in the top 50 percent. As a team, I think there's 15 teams going in 4A and I think we'd like to be in the top eight teams.
Grade: Senior.
Years on varsity: 2
| Stats | 2008 | Career |
| Tournaments | 8 | 14 |
| Medals | 2 | 2 |
| Best finish | 2nd | 2nd |
| Low score, 9 | 51 | 51 |
| Low score, 18 | 108 | 108 |
When she saw the Tigers had finished ahead of Columbus at Regionals: If was definitely better than I thought we were going to do, especially under the weather conditions. When we totaled up the score and saw we had a 431 and then Columbus had a 432, we ran over and told Mrs. Curran and I know it made her day.
She finished second in her home tournament as a senior: That was probably one of the best times this season, at least for me. I knew everybody else played really well. I didn't do so well for a while after that. I didn't play as well at Regionals as I did at the home tournament but I feel like we all did really well.
Grade: Senior.
Years on varsity: 2
| Stats | 2008 | Career |
| Tournaments | 9 | 14 |
| Medals | 1 | 1 |
| Best finish | 1st* | 1st* |
| Low score, 9 | 50 | 50 |
| Low score, 18 | 111 | 111 |
* -- Scramble format.
How the team felt when they knew they took second at Regionals: It was definitely better than we expected. We went farther than what our goal was. We jumped for joy. We got in the van and we just started screaming, we were so happy.
Her State goals: I'm going for 100. I got my goal last time, which was around 110. I think we will definitely place with the top teams, the top three.
Grade: Senior.
Years on varsity: 2
| Stats | 2008 | Career |
| Tournaments | 9 | 14 |
| Medals | 1 | 1 |
| Best finish | 1st* | 1st* |
| Low score, 9 | 57 (55*) | 57 |
| Low score, 18 | 115 | 115 |
* -- Scramble format.
About her play at the Regional Tournament: I was happy because I did bad and I thought I that I cost my team the chance to go to State. But we came in second and I was shocked and I was happy and I was texting all my friends. I called my mom and she was happy. My aunt and my uncle, they were happy because they enjoy playing golf. My mom encourages me.
Senior season: It's hit me. I'm sad because I realize it's my senior year and this is my last chance to go to State or to do anything high-school related.
Grade: Junior.
Years on varsity: 2
| Stats | 2008 | Career |
| Tournaments | 9 | 14 |
| Medals | 1 | 1 |
| Best finish | 10th | 10th |
| Low score, 9 | 58 (50*) | 58 |
Low score, 18
| 119 (104*) | 119 |
* -- Scramble format.
How she felt about Regionals: I was really happy. I didn't do too well for myself but I was happy we made it all together. I was really excited about that.
Her State goals: Just doing as good as we can. Going out there and feeling confident about it. Shooting better than usual would be good, too.
Grade: Sophomore.
Years on varsity: 2
| Stats | 2008 | Career |
| Tournaments | 9 | 17 |
| Medals | 5 | 6 |
| Best finish | 3rd | 3rd |
| Low score, 9 | 44 | 44 |
| Low score, 18 | 95 | 95 |
About her playoff against Columbus' Lacie Hale at Regionals: I was extremely nervous. I'd never been in a playoff before and it was with a really good golfer that I'd played with before and she'd beat me big time. So it was really nice to beat here and I was excited. I didn't think I could do it, but I did.
About the sudden-death playoff at Regionals: That was amazing because I was on my playoff hole and I didn't even know the team made it at that point. I was excited afterwards to make it as an individual. Then when they told me the team made it, I was really excited. We have four seniors and it may be our last chance to make it to State for a while, so it was really cool.
Incidentally, this is the first time Class 4A has had its own State Tournament. In previous seasons, Classes 4A through 1A were combined. In the early years of the Tiger program, Class 5A was combined with 6A.
Previous Fort Scott State qualifiers
2001 -- Erin Lewis.
2002 -- Lewis, Ashley Hughes, Kaylee Parsons, Lee Sewell.
2003 -- Lewis (16th), Sewell, Krista Goltra, Alyssa Malone.
2004 -- Lewis (9th), Sewell (10th), Goltra.
2005 -- No qualifiers.
2006 -- Adrianne Tourtillott, Brittany Fowler.
2007 -- Tourtillott.