By KARL MAN Eyewitness Sports

8:41 p.m. CDT, October 17, 2011

A cold, blustery backdrop set the tone Monday at the Topeka Country Club for the 4A girls’ state finals in golf.

It was Buhler’s day on the links as the ladies captured the team title with a combined score of 394. Andale (406), Jefferson West (409), Topeka Hayden (424), and Girard (442) rounded out the top five teams that placed in the team completion.

While Buhler celebrated its team title in convincing fashion it was the singles competition that had everyone dialed in. A playoff hole was needed to determine the state champion on Monday as Topeka Hayden’s Brooke LaRue faced off against Kyrstie Miller of Holton. Miller shot a bogey on the first playoff hole and LaRue shot par giving the Hayden senior golfer the individual state title.

The top five saw LaRue (82), followed by Miller (82), Taryn Torgerson of Buhler (86), Kimberlee McNair of Girard (87) and Dani Eck of Andale (89) finish respectively.

For LaRue, it was all too familiar territory for the senior on the links. For starters she was playing on her home course in front of her home crowd at the Topeka Country Club. LaRue actually won the state championship as a sophomore; then finished in second place last year. Needless to say, an impressive resume was built in four years at Hayden for LaRue.

“It was a great way to go out”, says Hayden girls golf coach Dan Key.

The coach also chimed in on the playoff hole and his emotions when it took place.

“Obviously I was anxious…not nervous, I was just anxious”, added Key. “I just had a lot of confidence in her (in reference to LaRue) and knew she could do it”, said the coach.
 
The tournament was actually not hampered by rain which hit the greater Topeka area throughout the day, tournament officials said they were “simply lucky”.  

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