Burnet girls golf finish second at regional tourney
CAPTION: Burnet High School golfers Chloe Shannon (left), Kristine Rodriguez, Avery Gowin and Cambria Neenan wear their team silver medals symbolizing their finish at the Class 4A Region III tournament. Courtesy photo
For the second time in school history, the Burnet High School girls golf team will compete at the Class 4A state tournament.
That’s because the Lady Dawgs finished second in the team standings at the Class 4A Region III tournament April 15-16 with a 356-351–707.
They were paced by freshman Chloe Shannon, who shot an 85-83–168 to finish fifth in the individual standings. Senior Avery Gowin scored an 84-85–169 for sixth, senior Cambria Neenan finished with a 93-91–185 and senior Kristine Rodriguez shot a 94-91–185. Both were tied for ninth.
Head coach Carter Carruthers noted his Lady Dawgs played with “consistency and resilience.”
“When they weren’t having their (best) days, they still found ways to stay consistent and not go out there and let the course really get the best of them in terms of the whole field,” he said. “We didn’t play as well as maybe our direct competition Lampasas but in terms of the entire field, we did a good job of not letting it really, really get all of us.”
He noted Shannon is used to scoring lower but added those whose seasons are continuing truly earned it.
“That course really and truly kind of got the best of her a little bit. She’s used to really playing better than that actually. But that was her resilience,” he said. “Even when things aren’t going our way, she still found ways to not throw up really big numbers. She let her bad holes be bogeys, which was good for her.”
While Shannon had the lowest score among the Lady Dawgs, Carruthers noted that Rodriguez’s score ensured the team earned one of the three berths to the state tournament.
“We knew what we were going to get out of Kristine, so we thought we’d have the chance to win the region,” he said. “I was really proud of (Shannon) and really same thing with all the girls. Our girls were playing to their ceilings. Kristine played to her ceiling. She played really, really well. They didn’t play their best, but they still found a way to get out and do what they needed to do. We dropped a couple strokes to Lampasas, and it happens, but the main thing is we punched our ticket to go back to Legends (Golf Course and Villas in Kingsland for the state tournament).”
The depth and talent of District 24-4A was on full display with District 24-4A rival Lampasas winning the regional title with a 356-345–701.
“(Head coach) Justin Schulze does a great job with that golf program,” Carruthers said. “I’ve learned a lot from him and I’ve sat back and watched him and how he does it. That’s the beauty of golf. I see (his players) every week and I get to watch how they do things. I’ve learned so much from him on how to run the golf team and program. We knew there was a good chance going down there that we’d finish one and two after both of us got out of district. So it’s the way it sets up. We just play good golf in the hill country.”
The state tournament is May 4-5.
