SALT LAKE CITY — For Greta Schneider, winning an individual state title has been a goal and until Wednesday, merely a dream.
At Rose Park Golf Course on Wednesday, Schneider accomplished her goal of winning an individual state title thanks to a lot of practice and a solid day on the course. Schneider shot an 88 which accounted for 76 points in the Stableford system, which gives more positive points for lower scores on each hole.
"I was really nervous going (into the tournament) so I've been practicing the last two weeks every day, Schneider said. "I was in the zone (today)."
"Greta practices all the time," St. Joseph coach Lou Eddy said.
Not only did she take the individual title but she led her team to an easy victory as well as it racked up 242 points, 29 more than the second place team.
"It feels wonderful," Schneider said of closing her high school career with a state title.
In the individual competition, Layton Christian's Marissa Long took second with 68 points while St. Joseph's Mady White took third with 66 points. St. Joseph rounded out the top six with Kristen Carney scoring 61 points, showing the consistency of the Jayhawks in a sport where teams are generally not very deep.
"Greta has been the low medalist at every match and Mady Smith has been second every match," said Eddy, who already has two state titles under his belt with St. Joseph.
St. Joseph's success and depth may be due to the fact that the school has a solid group of kids who basically all know each other.
"St. Joseph only has about 120 students, so everybody knows everybody," Eddy said. "It helps them that they know each other.
Following St. Joseph in the team results, Dugway took second with 213 points while LCA took third with 212. Milford and Duchesne completed the top five with scores of 192 and 184, respectively.
In the past, 1A has always been combined with either 2A and/or 3A for the girls golf state championship. However, now that the sport has grown, 1A finally has its own tournament.
For St. Joseph, this change means it may see many more state titles in the future as it easily won the 2013 state title and has been a perennial contender in the past. The Jayhawks won the 1A/2A state titles in both 2009 and 2010 even when the competition was tougher.
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