SM East, St. Thomas Aquinas win Kansas boys golf state titles

The scorecard showed only one blunder Monday, a double bogey on the seventh hole that slid Shawnee Mission East senior Andy Spencer down the leader board at the Kansas Class 6A state tournament.

But just as he had done the last couple of years, Spencer bounced back. He mixed a couple of birdies into a mistake-free back nine, finishing his round at even par at Manhattan Country Club.

It might not have been good enough to defend his Class 6A crown — he settled for second place — but it was good enough to lead Shawnee Mission East to the team championship, the fifth in the last nine years.

Washburn Rural sophomore Parker Beal won the individual tournament with a 2-under 68.

“It’s awesome to go out like this,” Spencer said. “We went out early and posted a really good number and just waited around to watch everyone else. We knew it would be a tough number to beat.”

The Lancers totaled a team score of 295, an 8-shot cushion over second-place Washburn Rural. That gave SM East coach Ermanno Ritschl a first-place trophy in his last season coaching the boys program.

Blue Valley North was third at 310, followed by Shawnee Mission Northwest at 311.

On the individual leader board, Blue Valley senior Griffin Mott placed third after posting a 71. Shawnee Mission East sophomore Thomas Luger took fourth with a 72.

Class 5A

St. Thomas Aquinas, composed of mostly freshmen and sophomores with one senior, maintained its poise through a three-hour rain delay and posted an 8-stroke victory at Emporia Municipal Golf Course.

Sophomore Jack Seiler shot a 1-over 72 and finished second to Maize South’s Wells Padgett, who shot a 69.

Seiler said he rode a wave of good play, which gave him confidence coming in.

“I’ve been coming in good for the team before, but this was the first time I’ve been the leading scorer,” he said. “It feels good.”

Sophomore Andrew Cunningham shot a 74 for Aquinas, and senior Ben VanPelt had a 75. Junior Jared Loomis shot a 78, giving Aquinas four golfers in the top 20.

Blue Valley Southwest finished third among teams with a 311.

Class 4A

Piper finished eighth at 346, and De Soto was 12th at 367 in Ulysses, Kan. Hays was the winner with a 312 total

Paola’s Jordan Bulcock was the top Kansas City area finisher, shooting a 76 for sixth place.

Class 2A

Kansas City Christian finished in seventh place with a 381 at Salina Country Club.

Parker Allen of Olathe Heritage Christian finished third with a 77.

Class 1A

Immaculata won its second consecutive state championship in Leavenworth.

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 7:19 PM with the headline "SM East, St. Thomas Aquinas win Kansas boys golf state titles."