Alta-Aurelia wins Twin Lakes girls golf title behind depth and Westphal
Avery Westphal shot an 82 and Alta-Aurelia backed her with four more all-conference finishes to win the Twin Lakes girls golf title by 13 strokes.
Alta-Aurelia turned a balanced lineup into a conference championship Monday at BVU Golf Course at Lake Creek, where Avery Westphal won medalist honors with an 82 and the Warriors posted a 400 to beat Emmetsburg by 13 strokes and Newell-Fonda by 21.
The Twin Lakes Conference girls golf tournament showed how much depth mattered. Westphal set the pace at the top, but Alta-Aurelia also placed Eva Kaskey seventh with a 103, Kenna VanOort 11th with a 107, Quimby Kies 14th with a 108 and Abree Maldonado 16th with a 109. Leah Kannegieter added a 127, giving the Warriors enough across the scorecard to pull away from a field that included Newell-Fonda, which also produced three all-conference golfers.
Emmetsburg finished second with a 413, followed by Newell-Fonda at 421, Pocahontas Area at 435, Southeast Valley at 451, Sioux Central at 456, East Sac County at 465, West Bend-Mallard at 473, Manson-Northwest Webster at 574 and Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire at 586. The spread underscored how decisive Alta-Aurelia’s top-to-bottom effort was on a day when one standout round alone was not enough to decide the title.
The win carried extra weight because it marked a clear step up from a year ago. In 2025, Alta-Aurelia finished fourth at the Twin Lakes Conference tournament with a 400, trailing Newell-Fonda, Pocahontas Area and East Sac County. This time, the same team score was good enough to win the league crown, a reflection of how much ground the Warriors made up at the front of the conference.
Alta-Aurelia entered the championship on strong form as well, coming off a triangular victory at Aurelia earlier in the week. The Warriors shot a 207 there, 29 strokes ahead of East Sac County, with Westphal carding a 40 and Abree Maldonado adding a 53. Quimby Kies, Eva Kaskey, Kenna VanOort and Leah Kannegieter also posted counting scores, a preview of the balance that carried over to Lake Creek.
The title gave Alta-Aurelia more than a trophy. With Westphal delivering at the top and multiple teammates finishing inside the all-conference group, the Warriors showed the kind of roster depth that can travel well into the rest of the spring.
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