Magnolia freshman Halle Whitney wins the Class 5A girls individual state title.
Freshman Whitney wins playoff to give school back-to-back champs
CEDAR CREEK — The nerves were there, but they weren’t the same.
This wasn’t the same No. 1 tee shot 14-year-old Magnolia native Halle Whitney was preparing to hit as she did Monday morning, or just before 11 a.m. on Tuesday. After two rounds at Wolfdancer Golf Club, Whitney was back at the first tee box with a chance at a state championship.
“I was nervous but since I’d already played, I was confident with my swing,” said Whitney, who tied Mansfield Lake Ridge’s Caitlyn Lindell after 36 holes to force a playoff. “It wasn’t like I was stepping up to the first tee, so when I was going out there, I was more confident.”
Reason to be proud
Whitney caught a break on the second playoff hole — Lindell’s approach was short of the green and rolled into a dry creek bed. But the confidence showed on Whitney, who led after the first round. Despite a triple bogey on No. 2 earlier in the day, Whitney calmly two-putted for bogey to claim the Class 5A individual title.
Just a freshman, Whitney (150) follows Ava Schwienteck in giving Magnolia consecutive champions. This marks the first time the Houston area has back-to-back girls titles at the state’s second-largest classification since Montgomery’s Lisa McCloskey won her second in a row in 2008.
“I’m just happy — and proud,” said Whitney, who closed the first round with four birdies on the back nine and rallied Tuesday by shooting 2-over on her last nine holes.
Grapevine won the team title, shooting a 627 to end Kingwood Park’s run of consecutive championships. The Mustangs posted a 308 on Tuesday after they entered the day trailing Magnolia by one stroke. Gabriella Tomanka and Anna Takahashi finished third and fourth, while Lauren Chasczewshi gave Grapevine three of the top 12 finishers.
Their 308 was 19 shots better than Kingwood Park (653). Magnolia shot 319 to lead the first round, but No. 2 was disastrous for the Bulldogs on Tuesday. The five golfers were a combined plus-14 over par on the hole to all but take them out of contention.
The Panthers simply couldn’t catch Grapevine.
Tough act to follow
“We tried to chase them all day,” Kingwood Park coach Angela Chancellor said. “They played solid golf, and it was fun to watch. Just wish it could have been our kids.
“A shot here, a shot there. We would make a birdie and then they would make a birdie. We just couldn’t catch them.”
Leah Alberto (153) and Elise Parel (158) were fifth and 11th, respectively, for Kingwood Park, which in four years now has a runner-up and thirdplace finish (2014) to go with two titles (2015-16).
“Last year was the best team I’ve ever coached — ever,” Chancellor said of a group that graduated three Division I golfers. “To reload after losing those three, come back and still finish second is special.”