Blue Springs senior Mariah Peters wins state golf championship, leads Wildcats to team title

Blue Springs senior Mariah Peters walked off the Twin Hills Country Club golf course Tuesday and immediately headed for the clubhouse. Along the way, she asked everyone in her path for an update on Missouri Class 2 state-championship leaderboard.

Her teammate Madyson Acers eventually delivered the good news: Peters was a state champion. Finally.

After three straight top-10 finishes at the Class 2 state meet, Peters climbed to the top spot Tuesday when she edged Parkway Central's Elizabeth Leath by one stroke for the title.

Her round of 75 also led Blue Springs to the Class 2 team championship on a windy Tuesday afternoon in Joplin.

"I've been waiting for so long for this. I worked so hard all summer with only this goal in mind," Peters said in a phone interview after her round. "And I knew if I had the lowest individual score in the tournament, our team could win, too."

The opening round of the two-day tournament was rained out Monday, leaving Tuesday's scores as the lone deciding factor for the state championship.

The weather made it difficult again Tuesday — with wind gusts topping 30 miles per hour — but Blue Springs fought through it. Acers took 12th with an 85. Jailyn Marshall, Jordan Marshall and Cassie Cloninger rounded out the winning lineup for the Wildcats.

"All the scores were really high — much higher than our average — so the girls were getting frustrated," Wildcats coach Jill Courter said. "As we were walking with them, we kept telling them that everyone's scores were high. It was a tough day. You just had to keep going because every shot was going to count."

Blue Springs (363) finished with a five-stroke cushion on second-place Kirkwood, but no team lagged far behind in a tightly-contested tournament. Notre Dame de Sion placed sixth with a 382, led by Anna Ciani, who was 23rd.

Staley's Ana Rodriguez tied for 14th. Liberty's Alexia Harman and Park Hill's Samantha Paulak tied for 18th. Raymore-Peculiar's Sophia Sadaro and Lee's Summit's Skylar Brunk tied for 20th.

CLASS 1

Pembroke Hill settled for third place at the Missouri Class 1 state meet Tuesday with a two-day total of 698.

With a team score of 664, MICDS ran away from the field for the Class 1 state championship at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield.

Smithville took fifth place.

Pembroke Hill freshman India Gaume was the top local finisher, placing sixth with a two-day score of 157. She carded an 80 on Tuesday after shooting a 77 on Monday.

"She's a veteran player, especially for a freshman. She's very disciplined," Pembroke Hill coach Andi Wolfe said. "Even when she gets into trouble, she understands how to get herself out of trouble."

Barstow's Olivia Laub was 12th after compiling a two-day total of 166, and Smithville's Abby Harmeyer was 15th with a 167.

Pembroke Hill does not feature on a senior on its roster.

This story was originally published October 14, 2014 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Blue Springs senior Mariah Peters wins state golf championship, leads Wildcats to team title."