CARTHAGE, Mo. — As the summer months progressed, and as the school year quickly approached, McDonald County’s Lily Allman anxiously wondered if she’d get a senior season on the links.
Like the countless other high school athletes from across the country, Allman could only wait for the verdict.
“It was nerve-racking this summer,” Allman said. “I played in a lot of summer tournaments, so I tried to stay focused on that because no one knew what was going to happen. I played as much as I could in case we didn’t have a season.”
Eventually, good news arrived, and the prep golf season is underway.
Now, Allman is determined to make the most of the 2020 fall season.
And thus far, she’s doing just that.
A multi-year standout for the Mustangs, Allman earned medalist honors at the 10th annual eCarthage.com Invitational girls golf tournament on a near perfect Monday at the Carthage Golf Course.
“I’m just glad we’re able to play,” Allman said. “I just try to take each tournament one at a time because you never know what could happen. I’m just thankful and I feel blessed that I’m able to play this year. And so far, the season’s been good.”
As far as Allman’s performance on Monday, good would be an understatement.
Allman carded an impressive 2-under-par 69, seven strokes better than the runner-up.
“I actually got off to a rough start today,” Allman said. “But my coach told me to take it one shot at a time and I think I did a good job of doing that. I just tried to relax and go play golf. As soon as I got that mindset, it was a better day.”
Allman made seven birdies and shot par on seven other holes en route to her personal best score.
“I told her, ‘This year you will post a score under-par’ and she did,” Mustangs coach Darryl Harbaugh said. “She started off today with a bogey and then a double-bogey on the first two holes. She was mad and ready to throw down. I told her to calm down and just play her game. Then she got on a roll. She made a heck of a birdie and made a couple of nice putts on the back nine. I don’t think she three-putted today. She did great.”
Allman is off to a stellar start to her senior year, as she’s now won three invites in as many weeks.
She took first place at the Carl Junction invite last week at Briarbrook Golf Course with a 75 and also topped the leaderboard at Joplin’s invite two weeks ago at Schifferdecker Golf Course with a 78.
Earlier in the season, Allman placed third at Marshfield’s tournament and sixth at Springfield Catholic’s invite.
“Technically, she started off the season a little slow,” Harbaugh said. “In the first few tournaments, she found a couple of things to work on and places she can improve. And you don’t have to tell her anything twice because she’s always working on her game. And her hard work is paying off. She’s playing great and she’s having a great year.”
In 2019, Allman captured district and sectional titles before finishing 31st at the Class 2 state tournament.
Allman noted she’s highly-motivated to end her prep golf career on a high note.
After the conference tourney on Sept. 29, McDonald County will compete at the Class 3 District 3 tournament in Springfield, where a trip to state will be on the line. This year’s Class 3 state tournament will be held at Twin Hills in Joplin.
“My goal is to compete and do well at districts and to go on to state,” Allman said. “I’d love to be all-state. I just want to do the best I can and let the results take care of itself.”
“I hope she doesn’t put too much pressure on herself the rest of this year,” Harbaugh said. “You can only control one shot at a time. But she knows that.”
CARTHAGE WINS TEAM TITLE, JOPLIN TAKES SECOND
With three golfers in the top nine, the host Carthage Tigers claimed the team championship with a four-person score of 366.
Carthage’s Hailey Bryant was the runner-up with a 5-over-par 76. Bryant made three birdies. Shaely Garrison took seventh place with a 92 and Caitlin Derryberry was ninth with a 95. Aubri Fisher’s 103 rounded out the team scoring.
Competing as an individual, Carthage’s Kim Lopez finished eighth with a 95.
“I thought they all played pretty good,” Tigers coach Lowell Catron said. “Hailey’s score is pretty good. Shaely, Caitlin and Aubrey all had their best rounds, so that was good to see. And we’re getting Rylee Scott back tomorrow, so we’re looking forward to that. We’ll keep teeing it up and we’ll keep trying to play as good as we can.”
The Joplin Eagles finished second in the team standings with a 395.
“I’m so proud of the girls,” Eagles coach Shannon Neill said. “We’re definitely seeing improvements. We still need to work on the short game for sure.”
Joplin’s Emily Delman placed fourth with a 90 and Campbell Waggoner took 10th with a 98.
Also for the Eagles, Sophia Schwartz shot a 99, Bella Sotlar turned in a 108 and Lindsey Belnap shot a 109.
After Allman and Bryant, Webb City’s Sarah Oathout placed third, with Joplin’s Delman fourth, Seneca’s Kaitlyn Soden fifth and Webb City’s Laya McAllister sixth. All four girls carded 90.
Area teams will compete at Cassville on Thursday.
eCarthage.com Girls Golf Invitational
At Carthage Golf Course
(Par 71)
CARTHAGE (366)— Hailey Bryant 76, Shaely Garrison 92, Caitlin Derryberry 95, Aubri Fisher 103, Ava Lacey 123.
JOPLIN (395)— Emily Delman 90, Campbell Waggoner 98, Sophia Schwartz 99, Bella Sotlar 108, Lindsey Belnap 109.
MCDONALD COUNTY (402)— Lily Allman 69, Jolie Stipp 105, Anna Mead 108, Fayth Ogden 120, Kyla Moore 123.
WEBB CITY (416)— Sarah Oathout 90, Laya McAllister 90, Sydney French 102, Eve Cartwright 134, Sophia Coulson 135.
SENECA (440)— Kaitlyn Soden 90, Madison Babbitt 111, Britany Adcock 116, Olivia Clark 123, Daylynn Carradine 127.
NEVADA (443)— Katie Pennington 100, Riley Severance 109, Libby Barrett 114, Paige Hertzberg 120.
CARL JUNCTION (449)— Anna Burch 105, Jasmine Woerner 112, Rylee Sprague 116, Chloe Mitchell 116, Kris Smith 121.
MONETT (478)— Claire Nation 112, Jisell Canales 114, Alondra Areolla 118, Jenna Spencer 134.
Individuals: Kim Lopez 95, Abbi Feagan 114, Kelsie Lilly 134.
