This year, we thought we would have a little easier route, we didn’t. Manila challenged us, so it was a lot of fun. – Milford head coach Wayne Hardy

MIDWAY — To the average person, Manila senior Kaity Schofield winning state may have seemed nearly impossible. Manila has only had a girls’ golf team for four years, and there isn’t even a course in Manila, Utah.

However, Wednesday at Soldier Hollow Golf Course during the 1A girls' golf state championship, Schofield took the individual honors against all odds while Milford took its second team state title in three years.

For Schofield, it simply came down to hard work despite not having convenient accommodations to improve her golf game.

“It’s amazing. I’ve worked so hard to get here, so it’s awesome,” Schofield said of winning the state championship. “This is the best I’ve ever played. I struggled at the beginning of the year and I worked really hard and came back from it, so I feel really good about how I did today.”

The senior earned 69 points in the modified Stableford scoring system on Soldier Hollow’s Silver course, four points ahead of second-place finisher Nicole McDermott of Milford.

McDermott, a senior for the Tigers, led her team with 65 points while teammates Baylee Netto and Bailey Barnes earned 54 points each to land in a tie for sixth. Teammate Kamree Sherwood was close behind in eighth place with 52 points.

Cydney Carter and Kelsea Mayer rounded out the Tigers’ team.

For the Tigers, and especially for seniors McDermott, Netto and Sherwood, winning their second state championship in three years has been a long but rewarding road. As freshmen their team took fourth and they came back in their sophomore year to take state.

After a close loss to St. Joseph’s in 2015, Milford was ready and motivated to end the year on top once again, though it didn’t come easy.

“Last year we took second place, and I thought we had it won, but St. Joseph’s beat us,” Milford head coach Wayne Hardy said. “This year, we thought we would have a little easier route, we didn’t. Manila challenged us, so it was a lot of fun.”

As for Manila, which took second overall, placing second was a great accomplishment considering the challenges the team faces.

In addition to Schofield, Sylvie Anderson, Kodee Thomas and Cedar Radisevich also had their scores used for the Mustangs.

According to Schofield, although they couldn’t slide into first place ahead of Milford, she and her team were happy to be in the position to finish well and ultimately take second place.

“Being together and getting second is amazing. I feel really good because we worked hard,” she said.

TEAM SCORES (Modified Stableford system)

1. Milford, 225; 2. Manila, 213; 3. Dugway, 160; 4. Pinnacle, 149; 5. Rich, 103; 6. Bryce Valley, 92.

INDIVIDUAL SCORES (Modified Stableford system)

69 – Kaity Schofield, Manila.

65 – Nicole McDermott, Milford.

63 – Jessica Emfinger, Intermountain Christian.

62 – Sylvie Anderson, Manila.

56 – Heather Roundy, Valley.

View Comments

54 – Bailey Barnes, Milford. Baylee Netto, Milford.

52 – Kamree Sherwood, Milford.

50 – Kassidy Christensen, Dugway.

47 – Kodee Thomas, Manila. Nikki Borba, Pinnacle.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.