Lady Tigers golf takes third at Sectional

Nevada senior Mariah Jones watches her shot fly off the tee during Wednesday's Sectional tournament in Bolivar, Mo.

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- For the second year in a row, Mariah Jones and Emmaly Ellis have added their names to the list of MSHSAA Girls' Golf Championships qualifiers.

As a team, head coach Brian Leonard's Nevada Lady Tigers golf team struggled at the Class 1 Sectional 2 tournament, finishing the course with an overall tally of 415. Southern Boone County won the tournament with a 378, followed by Mount Vernon at 409.

It was just a rough day out there," Leonard said of the day's struggles on the course. "The greens were lightning fast, it was just a tough course."

Sophomore Emmaly Ellis sinks a putt during Wednesday's Sectional tournament.

Leonard said that many players had trouble throughout the day, with just a couple of notable exceptions. The weather was "perfect," Leonard said, but a fierce cross wind came up mid-morning.

In just her sophomore season, Ellis earned herself a spot in the state tournament for the second time in her high school career, finishing the par-72 course with the best overall score of the day for the Lady Tigers as she finished with a 26-over 98, while Jones was not far behind at 99. Senior Jessica Mosbrucker missed the state qualification cut by nine strokes as she finished with a 36-over 108.

Ashley Shumaker finished another two strokes back at 110 and Morgan Turner rounded out the order for the Lady Tigers as she finished the course in 112 strokes. Cole Camp's Megan Keck and Southern Boone County's Payton Schooler. "This is the lowest state qualifier score that I've seen for girls," Leonard said.

Jones and Ellis are now set to head into the state tournament with some of the toughest and most evenly matched competition in the event's history, on a course neither player has seen. The 36th annual Girls Golf Championships will be held on Oct. 18 and 19, on the par-72 Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield, Mo.