Gardner Edgerton’s Mia Tovkach is The Star’s All-Metro girls golfer of the year
Gardner Edgerton freshman Mia Tovkach says she feels just a bit guilty for stealing the spotlight during the high school girls golf fall season.
She acknowledges her stiff competition in Kansas Class 6A, which featured the second- and fourth-place finishers from last year’s state tournament. Still, Tovkach is a bit surprised about how well her season went.
She won the three-round Eastern Kansas League conference tournament, then placed second at her regional playoff tournament. At the Kansas Class 6A state tournament in mid-October at Terradyne Country Club in Andover, Kan., Tovkach shot a 77 and won the state title by 1 stroke.
For all those feats, Tovkach is The Star’s All-Metro girls golfer of the year.
“Going in, I thought I would be up there as one of the top people, but I didn’t think I could win because there were so many good golfers ahead of me,” Tovkach said. “Then, I was sick on top of that. I’m really proud of winning state.”
Tovkach’s lowest score of the season came at Swope Park, where she shot a 71 to win the third and final leg of the Eastern Kansas League tournament. She shot in the 70s during the second and third legs and finished in the top three at all three rounds of the conference tournament. She also set a tournament record at Paola Country Club with a 33 for nine holes.
The Star’s All-Metro girls golf team
India Gaume, Pembroke Hill, sophomore. She was perfect in the postseason. In three straight weeks, Gaume won her Missouri Class 1 district and sectional tournaments before winning the state tournament with a two-day total of 150.
Tatum King, St. Thomas Aquinas, junior. King, the Eastern Kansas League runner-up, placed third with an 80 in the Kansas Class 5A state tournament. She won the Blue Valley North Invitational, tied for first in the Shawnee Mission East Invitational and won her regional.
Caroline Klemp, St. James Academy, junior. Klemp, the Kansas Class 5A state champion, shot a 78 and won a tiebreaker to capture the state title at Dub’s Dread Golf Club. She did not finish lower than fourth place in any tournament this season.
Jailyn Marshall, Blue Springs, senior. Marshall won the Mo-Kan tournament in September, arguably the most competitive regular season meet in the Kansas City area. She was also a Missouri Class 2 district champion and had a 78 season scoring average.
Samantha Paulak, Park Hill, junior. Paulak won five tournaments during the season — three of which featured a field of more than 100 golfers. She was the Suburban Red Conference champion, a Missouri Class 2 district champion and had a scoring average of 76.7 for the season.
Mia Tovkach, Gardner Edgerton, freshman. Tovkach, The Star’s All-Metro golfer of the year, shot a 77 and won the Kansas Class 6A state championship. She placed in the top three in every tournament this season and won the three-round Eastern Kansas League tournament.
This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Gardner Edgerton’s Mia Tovkach is The Star’s All-Metro girls golfer of the year."