Washington?s Buitendorp and Waite qualify for state

Washington?s Megan Buitendorp and Sarah Waite finished third and fourth, respectively, at Monday?s Class 4A regional girls? golf tournament at Edmundson Golf Course in Oskaloosa, both earning a trip to the state tournament.

Buitendorp, a junior, carded an 85 to take the third-place medal, while Waite, a sophomore, shot an 88 to take the fourth place medal. Both Buitendorp and Waite recorded career-best scores to earn a trip to state.

Junior Maddie Hora also shot a career-best score of 107 for the Demons.

?The last couple of weeks I could see Megan, Sarah and Maddie really coming along,? Washington head coach Leonard Kull said. ?They?ve just done a super job. Maddie was shooting in the high 60s and 70s [for nine holes], and then everything kind of clicked. She just kept working, she didn?t get discouraged, and right now I think she?s having some fun, which is good to see.?

Freshman Deanna Peiffer shot a 111 to round out the scoring for the Demons, while senior Megan Reuscher and junior Keysha Dixon both had a 123.

The Demons finished third at the 12-team regional tournament, just missing a trip to state, which goes to the top two teams. Cedar Rapids Xavier won the regional title with a 346, and Mt. Pleasant was second with a 387. The Demons were a close third with a 391.

Even though the team missed a trip to state by four strokes, Kull was very pleased with the play of his team, which broke 400 for the first time this season.

?The Washington girls, in my opinion, played their hearts out,? he said. ?Obviously it was our best outing. That?s the third time in a row that we?ve finished third at the regional tournament. That?s too bad. But that just shows that we?re right there. We?ve just got to get a little bit better, and then we?ll really be playing well.?

With everyone but Reuscher returning next season, the future is bright for the squad.

?Those underclassmen that we have on the team have come a long way,? Kull said. ?They kind of bought into what we try to do. It?s a feel-good deal the way they?ve come along and wound up to be really good competitors.?

Buitendorp and Waite improved a lot this season, and now they?re headed to the state golf tournament, which will be held May 28-29 at the Ames Golf and Country Club.

?We?re going to use ?carpe diem? as our motto for the rest of the week,? Kull said. ?They?re both underclassmen, but when you get a chance to go [to state], you need to take advantage of it because there?s no guarantee that you?ll get a chance to go again.?