CAPE GIRARDEAU聽鈥 Tess Guignon was as surprised as anyone.
The St. Joseph鈥檚 sophomore was in the individual title hunt all day Tuesday in the second round of the Class 4 girls golf state tournament at Dalhousie Golf Club, but all indications were she was going to fall just short.
It wasn鈥檛 until the final results were posted where Guignon鈥檚 name was a somewhat surprising presence at the top.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 look at my phone at all until the very end and I was in second, I think,鈥 Guignon said. 鈥淪o, I thought I was gonna finish second. But I鈥檒l take first. My teammates told me. I was really surprised and happy.鈥
Guignon carded the second-best Class 4 score of anybody Tuesday with a final round of 2-over-par 75 to finish with a two-day total of 7-over 153, which was good enough to edge a pair of competitors by just one stroke.
鈥淢y goal was to get top five or win state, so I completed that goal,鈥 Guignon said. 鈥淗onestly, I just got a lot of pars and just kept trying to club away the course. If I did have a bad hole, I just tried to get back on track.鈥
The individual title was the fourth for St. Joe鈥檚, but the first since Liz Uthoff did it in 1996.
鈥淭hat means a lot to me,鈥 Guignon said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to do that, so I鈥檓 glad I got it done.鈥
St. Joe鈥檚 has enjoyed a ton of team success, especially in recent years with 10 of its record 12 titles coming under legendary coach Carol Fromuth, including seven straight from 2016-2022. But that success had lacked an individual champ for the past 28 years.
鈥淎s a sophomore, that鈥檚 a lot to accomplish. She works hard and she鈥檚 got a beautiful swing,鈥 Fromuth said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to give credit to her because she鈥檚 the one who put in the hours. It鈥檚 not just a two-month spot. You need to play in the summertime to get to this point.鈥
Guignon鈥檚 final four holes went like this聽鈥 birdie, double-bogey, birdie, bogey. Despite that crazy ride, she was able to nail down the title.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think it would end that way, but it鈥檚 fine,鈥 Guignon said. 鈥淚 started with a birdie, so I was like, 鈥業 gotta keep this going.鈥欌
The top of the pack was bunched聽鈥 sixth-place golfers were just three strokes behind and the difference between first place and missing the all-state (top 15) cut was just 11 strokes.
Crusaders鈥 Bush just one shot back
Annabelle Bush was shedding tears moments after the conclusion of the Class 4 tourney, but they were tears of joy for the St. Dominic senior.
Bush matched her opening-round 4-over 77 with another one Tuesday to compile a two-day total of 8-over 154. That was good enough to vault the Drake commit into a second-place tie with Jackson junior Julia Schlitt, just one shot behind Guignon.
鈥淒efinitely tears of joy just reflecting back on the four years. I鈥檓 just so proud of how far I鈥檝e come. Leaving my coach and teammates is definitely gonna be hard, but they鈥檙e happy tears,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 would have loved to get a few more strokes back, but the wind definitely played a big part today. Playing shots around that was difficult for me. But overall, I鈥檓 kind of pleased with my score.鈥
The runner-up tie was the second top-five finish for Bush, who took fifth in the Class 3 tourney two years ago as a sophomore.
鈥淧laying with all this competition with a lot of seniors that are playing collegiate golf, it鈥檚 just amazing to get the best of the best competition in Class 4,鈥 she said.
Flyers' Reinhardt nabs coveted all-state spot
Lindbergh senior Reese Reinhardt had a 15th-place finish two years ago as a sophomore but just missed the all-state cut last fall.
Reinhardt, who is not playing golf in college, really wanted to land that all-state finish in her final go-around and she was able to just that Tuesday.
鈥淚鈥檓 really happy to end senior year with an all-state finish,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 just came into the day wanting to shoot as low as I can. It鈥檚 my last high school tournament, so that鈥檚 really what I did.鈥
Viz duo claims top-10 finishes
Visitation sophomore Annie Rothery and senior Reese Robson were tied after the first round Monday, and they finished back-to-back in the final pecking order.
Rothery carded a 7-over 80 in the final round to finish with a two-day score of 13-over 159.
鈥淵esterday, I started off better and finished poorly. Today, I started off poor and finished strong, which was good because that makes me feel better because my team really needed it.
Robson, who will also not be playing in college, was just one shot behind her teammate with an 81 on Tuesday and a 160 for the tourney.
鈥淚t means a lot,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long time coming. I鈥檝e worked hard and it just feels super great to finish where I wanted to.鈥
Howell鈥檚 Mottert also ties for 10th
One year after producing the area鈥檚 best individual finish in Class 4 (sixth place), Francis Howell senior Hannah Mottert was back in the top 10 again this season.
The Central Missouri commit joined Robson as part of a three-way tie for 10th at 160.
鈥淚 think yesterday was definitely better. Today, I played really good on the front nine and the back nine I just kind of fell apart. It wasn鈥檛 anything specific, just a few unlucky breaks. But I finished strong with a birdie and a par, so I was really happy with that.
Angels鈥 Lenox rebounds for medal finish
St. Joe鈥檚 senior KC Lenox struggled in Monday鈥檚 first round with a 12-over 85, but the Lindenwood commit rebounded nicely Tuesday.
Lenox had an eight-stroke improvement over the opening round with a 4-over 77 to post a two-day total of 162, which netted her a 13th-place finish and a spot on the medal stand.
鈥淢y putting yesterday was just horrific and today all my putts were dropping pretty much,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 feel like this whole high school season I鈥檝e been playing really good, so I think I almost came into it with too much confidence. I was kind of humbled and today I was just trying to play better for myself and my team.鈥
Viz鈥檚 McLaughlin ends on high note
Viz senior Avery McLaughlin had a solid first round Monday with a 5-over 78, but things didn鈥檛 go quite as smoothly Tuesday.
The Richmond commit had a good front nine at just 2-over, but the back nine proved to be choppy with a 10-over 47. Despite a back nine that included two bogeys and three double-bogeys, McLaughlin righted the ship by ending with a pair of pars to nab a tie for the all-state spot at 14th with a two-day total of 163.
Her strong ending, which was punctuated by a good par putt on No. 18, also helped seal the second consecutive Class 4 team title for the Vivettes.
鈥淚 kept everyone on their toes, for sure,鈥 McLaughlin said. 鈥淚 was kind of looking for a putt the entire last two days and the fact that was the one kind of puts it all over the edge. It鈥檚 a great finish to this era of Viz golf in my life.鈥
MICDS has a 12-stroke lead over Cape Notre Dame after the opening round.聽
St. Joseph's Tess Guignon watches her tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of the Class 4 girls golf championship on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Gordon Radford | Special to the Post-Dispatch.
St. Dominic's Annabelle Bush tees off on the 11th hole during the second round of the Class 4 girls golf championship on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Gordon Radford | Special to the Post-Dispatch.
Lindbergh's Reese Reinhardt heads to the 18th tee during the first round of the Class 4 girls golf championship on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Gordon Radford | Special to the Post-Dispatch.
Francis Howell's Hannah Mottert lines up her putt on the 10th green during the second round of the Class 4 girls golf championship on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Gordon Radford | Special to the Post-Dispatch.