Shaffer wins state title

MARSHALLTOWN — Jaylee Shaffer knew how to put a bow on her state golf championship Friday afternoon.

Shaffer went to her final tee box at Marshalltown’s American Legion Course with a three-stroke lead over Calista Joyce of Emmetsburg, who had already finished at 18-over par 160 for the two days of the girls Class 1A tournament.

Shaffer lined up her 48-degree wedge shot from the tee on the 122-yard par-three ninth hole. Despite an 18 mph northwest wind blowing diagonally across that fairway, Shaffer dropped her shot onto the green, rolling to within 12 inches of the cup.

Her Mount Ayr teammates watching from a hillside on the right side of the fairway shouted and cheered Shaffer’s shot. After she tapped in the birdie putt for a final score of 14-over par 156, Shaffer was met by her teammates and a hug from coach Kelly Shaffer, her mother.

“Those were tears of happiness,” Kelly Shaffer said. “You don’t want to jump the gun, because it’s golf, but I kept checking scores and saw she where she was. She didn’t want to know, so she could just focus on her game.”

There was nothing wrong with her focus on the final tee shot.

“I was like, please go in!’” Shaffer said, hoping for a hole-in-one to finish her second state tournament.

Shaffer was state runner-up by two strokes as a freshman last year, shooting 151 on the same course. This year, her 156 captured the crown, firing a round of 6-over 77 on Friday after opening with a 79 on Thursday.

Going into the final 18 holes, Emmetsburg’s Joyce was one of three co-leaders at 77, two strokes ahead of Shaffer.

When Shaffer four-putted the par-three 16th hole on her seventh hole of the day, Shaffer had fallen behind Joyce by three strokes.

However, just as Joyce hit a rough patch in posting her second-round 83, Shaffer was rebounding with a sizzling start to her second nine holes on the front with birdies on No. 2 and No. 3. both par-5 holes.

“I knew I had to battle back after 16,” Shaffer said. “I knew I had a lot of golf still to play and I had to make more pars.”

Shaffer was one of just two players shooting in the 70s on Friday as the wind picked up.

Shaffer is the first Mount Ayr girls golfer to win a state championship. She joins T.J. Redding (2002) as a state champion from Mount Ayr. Like Shaffer, Redding was runner-up for the Raiders the year before winning the title.

Kelly Shaffer said her daughter played steady on the second nine holes in coming out on top this year.

“She had good ball striking,” the Raiderette coach said. “But I just think her overall composure is her strength. She is really even keel and able to maintain, even after a disappointing hole.”

As a team, each Mount Ayr golfer improved from day one to day two as the Raiderettes set an 18-hole school scoring record of 367 Friday. Mount Ayr moved up one position from Thursday with a seventh-place finish in the 10-team field with a 36-hole score of 765.

“I’m so proud of the team!” Kelly Shaffer said after Friday’s awards presentations. “Yesterday wasn’t our best round, so our goal was to come out and improve today. All the girls rocked it. They all improved and set a new team record for 18 holes. These girls set a goal to get here, and they did it.”

Alana Doolittle was second on the team, finishing 47th with a two-day total of 198. She is one of three seniors in the state lineup, along with Olivia Huntington and Kamryn Willis. Huntington tied her personal best with a round of 99 on Friday. Other Mount Ayr players were Abby Larson and Izzy Gilbertson, who improved by 15 strokes on Friday with a round of 100.

Kelly Shaffer said it was fitting that the other Mount Ayr players, who had all finished their round, gathered near the green to cheer on their champion teammate on the last hole.

“They are a tight group,” coach Shaffer said. “They worked hard together all year.”

Nixon leads Eagles

East Union, which finished second to Mount Ayr at the Anita regional, finished 10th at state with a 402-417 — 819. Junior Gwen Nixon was in the top-10 medal hunt after shooting 83 on Thursday, ended up 33rd with a 184 after shooting 101 on Friday.

Nixon and individual qualifier Miaya Fourez of Southwest Valley both finished in the top half of the field of 77 golfers. Fourez was just behind Nixon in 34th place at 93-92 — 185.

Katheryn Lack finished second in the Eagles lineup with rounds of 97 and 98 for an overall score of 195. Mia Tallmon, Marlys Mitchell and Kaelee Buffington were others in the East Union lineup. Mitchell improved by 12 strokes with her 108 on Friday. Tallmon opened with a 102 and finished at 212.

“It was a great experience for the girls,” East Union coach Dave Campbell said. “They really started playing well in the late part of the year. Gwen played great on the first day and just had one of those golf days on the second day. Overall, I thought they were excited to make it.”

Easton Valley won the team championship with a score of 690.

CLASS 1A

Team scoring — 1. Easton Valley 690; 2. Nashua-Plainfield 719; 3. Mason City Newman Catholic 729; 4. Highland 736; 5. Akron-Westfield 739; 6. East Buchanan 748; 7. Mount Ayr 765; 8. Newell-Fonda 785; 9. Lake Mills 792; 10. East Union 819.

Individual leaders — 1. Jaylee Shaffer, Mount Ayr 79-77 — 156; 2. Calista Joyce, Emmetsburg, 77-83 — 160; 3. Bretlyn Decker, Central City, 77-84 — 161; 4. Paige Franzen, Nashua-Plainfield, 81-83 — 164; 5. Josie Rokusek, Boyden-Hull, 87-78 — 165; 6. Emersyn Schultz, Highland, 77-89 — 166; 7. Faith Franzen, Nashua-Plainfield, 81-85 — 166; 8. Aly Steil, North Mahaska, 84-84 — 168; 9. Addie Fier, Easton Valley, 85-84 — 169; 10. Hadley Farrell, Easton Valley, 84-86 — 170.

Mount Ayr (765) — 1. Jaylee Shaffer 79-77 — 156; 47. Alana Doolittle 107-91 — 198; 57. Olivia Huntington 107-99 — 206; 58. 58. Kamryn Willis 105-101 — 206; 64. Izzy Gilbertson 115-100 — 215; 69. Abby Larson 114-111 — 225.

East Union (819) — 33. Gwen Nixon 83-101 — 184; 45. Katheryn Lack 97-98 — 195; 61. Mia Tallmon 102-110 — 212; 72. Marlys Mitchell 120-108 — 228; 74. Kaelee Buffington 126-121 — 247.

Area Individuals

34. Miaya Fourez, Southwest Valley, 93-92 — 185.