OLATHE, Kan. — Olathe South girls golf didn’t simply win a championship Monday.
The Falcons made school history — and they did it with their season coming down to the final holes.
Olathe South captured the first girls golf sub-state championship in program history at Lake Shawnee Golf Course, rallying from six strokes behind with only four holes remaining to force a tie with Lawrence Free State.
Both teams finished with a score of 371.
The championship then came down to the fifth-score tiebreaker, with Olathe South emerging as the winner and securing the historic title.
One of the biggest moments came on the 18th hole.
Annika Whitcomb reached the 530-yard finishing hole knowing Olathe South needed her to post a 6 or better to keep the Falcons alive.
It was hardly an easy assignment.
Olathe South said the average score on the 18th hole that day was an 8. Whitcomb delivered. Her finish helped Olathe South erase the late deficit and pull even with Free State, setting up the tiebreaker that ultimately gave the Falcons the championship. The victory marks the first sub-state title for the Olathe South girls golf program.
The Falcons’ championship lineup included Caroline Parks, Ashtyn Roth, Wrigley Leyden, Annika Whitcomb, Berkley Guinn and Reese McNeil.
The team is coached by Coach Meile and Coach Radakovich.
The regional victory also sends Olathe South to the Class 6A state tournament, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 19-20, at Firekeeper Golf Course in Mayetta.
For a team that entered the final four holes six shots behind, the road to state could have looked very different.
Instead, the Falcons produced a late comeback, survived a tie and walked away from Lake Shawnee with something no Olathe South girls golf team had accomplished before. A championship trophy and a place in school history.
Something Different Media Group
