'Wise' Season for Kimball High School Girls Golf

It certainly was a "Wise" season for the Kimball High girls golf team and it mostly centered around sophomore Payton Wise, who once again ended her season with a state appearance – and a state medal winning appearance.

Payton brought home nine individual medals this season, including winning first place medalist honors at five tournaments. She started the season with a ninth place at Sidney, then won at Bayard with a new school record round of 81.

She followed that up with a win at the Kimball/Western Trails Tournament, shooting 87 to boost Kimball to a team win with a round of 421. All four Kimball girls medaled with Katie Heeg and Carli Wurdeman both shooting 110 for fifth and sixth place, and Maddie Cook shooting 114 for seventh.

At Mitchell, Payton had a bit of an off day shooting 90 for sixth place. At Gering, Payton shot her best round of her young career to better her school record to a 77 with nine hole scores of 4 and 37 for a round of 77. It was an exceptional day against a lot of big schools and Payton finished fifth.

At Ogallala in the next outing, Payton failed to place with a round of 96. She came right back at Bridgeport, however, to win with a round of 88. Heeg was fifth with 107 and Cook sixth with 109.

Then came District at McCook on a very tough and hilly course and with difficult weather conditions, and Payton was the best of the best winning medalist honors with her round of 88.

This qualified her for the state tournament, and she was joined by sophomore teammate Katie Heeg, who finished eighth with her round of 117.

At the state tournament in North Platte at the Lake Maloney golf course, Payton got off to a great start, shooting a round of 43-35-78 on her first day, which gave her a share of the lead after Day 1. That 78 round was her career second best round, just 1 stroke off her school record round of 77.

On the second day, with the wind blowing 40 to 50 miles an hour and the temperature quite cold, she didn't fare quite as well but still shot a round of 85 for a 163 total and ended up with the third place medal. .

With only one senior on the team this year in Carli Wurdeman, coach Katie Culek has Wise, Heeg and Cook all returning, along with three freshman players out this year, and has hopes of getting even more girls out next season. It turned out to be a very good year for coach Culek and her team, and a very special season for Payton Wise filled with record-breaking performances.