The Iowa high school golf season has come to an end, with three area athletes capping off their season with a trip to the state tournament.
In the girls class 1A state tournament at the Cedar Pointe Golf Course in Boone, Bishop Garrigan’s Avery Lichter capped a stellar junior season by finishing third overall, shooting an 86 on day one and 82 on day two for a total of 168. Lichter, who was making her third career appearance at the state tournament and first as an individual after qualifying with the whole Bishop Garrigan team the past two seasons, saw a big improvement over her past two state performances. Lichter finished in 33rd in 2021 with a two day total of 195, while finishing 31st in 2022, also with a score of 195, improving on that mark by 27 strokes this year.
Both Thursday and Friday followed a similar formula for Lichter, who shot a 45 on the front nine both days, closing with better scores on the back nine each time, as Lichter closed with a 41 on Thursday, and ended the state tournament strong with a 37 on the second nine Friday. The 37 Lichter posted on the final nine of the tournament was the best nine hole score by any golfer at any point of the class 1A competition, helping Lichter secure her third place finish.
The girls class 1A competition also saw North Union senior Oliva Von Bank making her first ever appearance at the state golf tournament. Von Bank posted an 18 hole total of 88 on day one and 98 on day two of the competition. Von Bank’s two day score of 186 was good for 13th place. The North Union senior shot a 46 on the front nine and 42 on the second nine during Thursday’s day one, and 51 on the first nine and 47 on the second nine on Friday’s day two.
In the class 3A state competition at the Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls, Algona junior Abby Brooks wrapped up her first career appearance at state with a 49th place finish, as Brooks tallied a 194 over the two day competition with a 93 on day one and 101 on day two. On day one, Brooks shot 45 on the front nine and 48 on the back nine, while on day two, Brooks started with a 46 on the first nine, and ended the competition with a 55 on the second nine.
