Alta-Aurelia girls golf advances after second-place regional finish
Avery Westphal’s 91 put Alta-Aurelia into Wednesday’s regional final after the Warriors finished second at Graettinger with a 392.
Alta-Aurelia kept its postseason alive by finishing second in Friday’s first-round Class 1A girls golf regional at Graettinger, where a 392 team total was enough to advance behind Algona Garrigan’s 376. The Warriors now move on to Wednesday’s regional final at Paullina, where they will need another strong round to extend the run beyond the next stage.
Avery Westphal led Alta-Aurelia with a 91 and finished as the runner-up medalist, giving the Warriors the low score they needed to stay in the hunt. Quimby Kies added a 99 and placed sixth overall, giving Alta-Aurelia two top individual efforts at the front of the lineup. Those scores set the pace for a team card that held together well enough to earn the second-place finish.
The rest of the Warrior lineup filled out the team total with Kenna VanOort at 100, Eva Kaskey at 102 and Leah Kannegieter at 107. Abree Maldonado shot 117, Chloe Murphy finished with a 114 and Brooklyn Lukins carded a 138, depth that helped Alta-Aurelia stay ahead of the cut line in a regional field where every stroke mattered.
The 16-stroke gap to Algona Garrigan showed the margin Alta-Aurelia must try to close if it wants to keep pace deeper into the postseason. Westphal’s 91 and Kies’ 99 gave the Warriors a strong one-two punch, but the next round will demand a tighter overall team score if Alta-Aurelia is to turn this advancement into another step forward.
Elsewhere in Buena Vista County golf, other local programs ran into tougher finishes in regional play. Sioux Central finished fourth in its first-round regional at Hull and did not advance, while Newell-Fonda also placed fourth at Dunlap and missed the cut. Ridge View finished third in a Class 2A first-round regional at Ida Grove, led by Zoey Aschinger’s 101. Alta-Aurelia was the county’s lone girls team to move on, making Westphal’s medalist effort and the Warriors’ second-place finish the clearest postseason success in the area heading into the next round.
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