DeGood’s Top-Five Finish Leads Lady Eagles in Season Opener

The Colby High School Lady Eagles opened their girls’ golf season with a fifth-place team finish Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Goodland Girls Invitational.

The 18-hole tournament at Sugar Hills Golf Club gave head coach Rick Williams an early look at a team that combines experienced seniors with several developing golfers.

Seniors Alayna Hrnicek, Cora DeGood and Lakyn Sims provide the foundation for Colby’s lineup. Sims is beginning her fourth year of high school golf, while Hrnicek and DeGood are each entering their third season.

DeGood led the Lady Eagles with a 95, finishing 24-over par and tied for fifth place in the 60-player field. Her performance represented a major step forward from last season, when she shot a 115 early in the year at Goodland before improving to a 102 in the regional tournament played on the same course.

DeGood was especially steady on the front nine. She recorded four pars and made the turn with a 44, just nine strokes over par. The back nine proved more challenging, but she continued to battle and completed it in 51 strokes to secure her top-five finish.

Hrnicek provided Colby’s second counting score with a 106, tying for 16th place. She went out in 51 and completed the back nine in 55.

Sims followed with a 109 and tied for 18th. After shooting a 52 on the front nine, she closed with a 57. Her round included pars on the par-3 second and 10th holes.

Landrie McKee, beginning her second season of high school golf, supplied the Lady Eagles’ fourth counting score. McKee shot matching rounds of 58 for a 116, placing 26th overall. Her even split showed consistency throughout the full 18-hole round.

Those four scores gave Colby a team total of 426, placing the Lady Eagles fifth among 11 teams that recorded complete scores. Colby finished only four strokes behind fourth-place Cimarron and 14 strokes behind tournament champion Thomas More Prep-Marian.

First-year high school golfers junior Ali Cox and senior Morgan Hills also completed the demanding 18-hole tournament. Cox shot a 122, including a 57 on the front nine, and tied for 34th. Hills gained valuable varsity experience while completing her first high school tournament with a 143. Their opening rounds provide a starting point as both golfers continue developing their games and adjusting to varsity competition.

Thomas More won the tournament with a 412, edging Syracuse by one stroke. Syracuse placed second at 413, while host Goodland took third with a 415.

Thomas More’s Brynn Schoepf earned medalist honors with an 84. Goodland’s Natalie Cure placed second with an 87. Cimarron’s Presley Glenn and Goodland’s Sadie Sederstrom tied for third at 93, while Rawlins County’s Addison Schilde and DeGood shared fifth place with matching rounds of 95.

With three seniors anchoring the lineup and three undeveloped golfers building tournament experience, the Lady Eagles left their season opener with an encouraging result and clear opportunities for continued improvement.