Bott moves on to state golf tourney

It was a bittersweet day for the Williamsburg girls’ golf team in a Class 3A regional final

Wednesday, May 17, at Twin Pines Golf Course in Cedar Rapids.

The Raiders got one player through to the state tournament but failed to advance as a team, ending a streak of four consecutive state tournament appearances.

Junior Jaisel Bott continued her season, shooting a nine-over-par 81 to place fifth individually and make state, but the Raiders didn’t score well enough as a team to move on, carding a 365 to finish third behind Cedar Rapids Xavier (320) and Dubuque Wahlert (334). The top two teams and six individuals

plus ties from each of the five regionals advance to state.

Williamsburg senior Kaylee Culp complemented Bott’s performance, turning in a solid round of her own with an 87 to share ninth place in the 50 player field.

Junior Julianne Miller tied for 20th place with a 96, and sophomore Mallory Jones, junior Drew Schropp and freshman Kenzi Driscoll had a 101, 105 and 108, respectively, to tie for 28th, 41st and 44th place.

Competing up a Class this year from 2A made it tougher for the Raiders to continue their state tourney streak, but coach Todd Subbert felt his squad handled that pressure well, posting their best team total of the season.

“We knew we'd have meets with much stiffer competition after making the jump to 3A, but I felt like we adjusted quite well and were up to the challenge,” Subbert said. “I thought we were competitive and represented ourselves the best we could.”

Graduating a couple of key players from last year’s team didn’t help.

“We lost a lot of experience from last year so that always poses an additional challenge to begin a new season, but I was pleased with the team's progress and was very happy to see us post our best score of the year at regionals,” Subbert noted. “We just ran into a couple of teams with a lot more firepower.”

Xavier and Wahlert had seven players between them finish in the top nine, including medalist and runner-up medalist, Xavier’s Julka Menhar and Julka Meera , who shot one-under-par 71 and six-over 78.

Disappointed by his team’s departure, coach Subbert felt comfort in his No. 1 player, Bott, getting back to state. She placed fifth individually a year ago and will be looking to improve upon that finish May 25-26 at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls.

“I'm very happy for Jaisel,” he said. “Along with Kaylee, she's been one of the pillars we've counted on all season. So this will be a reward well-deserved.”

Looking back, the Raiders accomplished a great deal in 2023, winning six meets including the WaMaC West Division championship, compiling a 46-17 record and placing third in the WaMaC Super Meet and regionals.

“Overall, I thought the season was very successful,” coach Subbert said. “These girls provided us with a lot of good memories.”