Happy’s Halee Jo Johnson wins second consecutive state championship in girls golf
Halee Jo Johnson was always figured to be a strong bet to repeat as state champion in her senior year. Still, she may not have even suspected how dominant of a performance she'd put up in the 1A girls golf state tournament.
Johnson, the lone qualifier from Happy High School, repeated as state champ with a two-day performance of 161, 12 strokes ahead of second place. She was particularly dominant on the second day with a 76. A regional and district champion this year, Johnson closes her prep career out on another high note.
Johnson was the sole first place winner from the area in any classification, but there were still plenty of individual performances to be proud of, including in 1A. Springlake-Earth's Taytum Goodman, the same Taytum Goodman that just won three gold medals at the state track and field tournament, also was at the state tournament for golf. She finished tied for 16th with a final score of 194.
The Wildorado girls team also competed at the 1A level. They finished in eighth place with Jaci Allen leading the way in a tie for 24th place with a final score of 211.
Though Johnson was the only individual medalist from the area, two teams from the Panhandle will bring home trophies.
In the 4A group, the Canyon Lady Eagles closed the season strong with a state runner-up trophy. Canyon's final team score was 666 with Shaylin Schulte leading the way at 13th place with a final score of 161. Lauren Robason was right behind her in a tie for 20th with a 164. Gracie Sutton finished in a tie for 30th place with a 170 while Chloe Stenberg was 32nd with a 171. Hartly Davis finished with a final score of 191
Randall's Kimber Nunn golfed at the 4A level as an individual and finished in 38th place with a final score of 178.
The second team bringing home some hardware is the Memphis Cyclones in 2A. The nine-time state champions were third place finishers as a team with a bronze trophy after golfing 755 as a unit. Maggie Cook was their top competitor after she tied for 13th with a score of 176. Kiyonna Matthews finished tied for 23rd with a 190, Braylee Brooks tied for 25th at 193, and Katelyn Morris tied for 30th at 197. Eliana Gonzalez finished with a 207.
Olton's Kylee Noack was the only other area golfer at the 2A level competing at state. She finished tied for 30th with a score of 197.
In 3A, Bushland finished in sixth place with a score of 803. Logan Culpepper was the Lady Falcons' top performer as she took eighth place with a final score of 165. Aside from the Lady Falcons, Childress' Elena Jurado was the only other local golfer competing in 3A and she finished in 20th place with a final score of 177.
Finally, Amarillo High competed at the 5A level. They finished in 10th place with a score of 678. Charlee Thacker was their top performer as she finished tied for fifth place at 148.
The boys state tournament will take place Monday and Tuesday with different locations for each classification.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Happy’s Halee Jo Johnson wins second consecutive state championship in girls golf
