Five things to watch at Kansas boys golf state tournament

The Kansas boys golf state tournament is scheduled for Tuesday at various sites, including Class 6A at Hutchinson, Class 5A at Newton and Class 4A at McPherson. Here are five storylines to watch during the event.

1. Sunflower League battle

A dominant final round at the Sunflower League tournament helped Shawnee Mission East’s Andrew Spencer finally shake cross-district rival Blake Allen of SM Northwest to win the league title by 7 strokes.

However, when they met five days later at the Class 6A regional tournament, Allen returned the favor and won by 6 strokes.

All of that Sunflower League drama will heat up again at the Class 6A state tournament on Tuesday at Carey Park in Hutchinson.

2. BV North on a roll

With four of the top six placers in the Eastern Kansas League tournament, Blue Valley North captured the team title by 34 strokes in the three-tournament event this spring.

Nick Kagy led the way for BV North with a second-place finish. Teammates Justin Howard, Jake Goldman and Noah Ryan followed close behind.

The Mustangs also went on to win their regional tournament and will be the only Class 6A Eastern Kansas League team qualifier at the state tournament on Tuesday.

EKL individual champion James Henderson of BV West and his teammates, along with St. Thomas Aquinas, will compete in the Class 5A state tournament.

3. Saints show depth at regional

According to Aquinas coach Ryan Best, the Saints’ biggest strength has been their depth. They are so deep, in fact, that he said they have had a different top four scorers in every tournament this season.

At the regional tournament hosted by Blue Valley West, it was Zach Toussaint who shot a 74 to win by 2 strokes. Teammates Jared Loomis and James Pyle also finished in the top 10, placing fifth and seventh, respectively.

Aquinas will compete in the Class 5A state tournament at Sand Creek Station Golf Course in Newton.

4. Experienced Pirates take aim

Piper might have only finished ninth at last year’s Class 4A state tournament, but the Pirates have three experienced golfers back from that team.

Eric Pahls, who placed 21st a year ago, won the Bonner Springs regional tournament by 4 strokes to lead the Pirates to a third-place team finish. Fellow veterans Nick Delaquila and Alex Hobelmann placed eighth and 21st for the Pirates.

De Soto, led by Daniel Lee, also qualified as a team from the regional. Lee placed seventh with a score of 82.

The Class 4A state tournament will be played at Turkey Run Golf Course in McPherson.

5. Family affair at Kansas City Christian

With second- and third-place finishes from brothers Nate and Luke Streeter, respectively, Kansas City Christian finished second as a team at the Kansas Class 2A regional tournament hosted by St. Mary’s Colgan.

KC Christian’s Matthew Horner added a seventh-place finish and JT Trott rounded out the top 10.

Heritage Christian qualified its team for the second straight season. Parker Allen led the effort with a sixth-place finish at regionals, and Jonathon Edmondson followed in eighth place.

The Class 2A state tournament will be played Tuesday at Emporia Municipal Golf Course.

This story was originally published May 21, 2015 at 2:38 PM with the headline "Five things to watch at Kansas boys golf state tournament."