In just its second year as a high school program, Walter Payton's girls golf team took a huge step towards becoming the type of team that can compete for a state title one day.
The Grizzlies dominated the city championship last Friday at Indian Boundary with a score of 175, easily besting Northside College Prep (2nd, 220) for the team title.
"They were confident they were going to win," said Payton head coach Jim Kurotsuchi. "I just kind of stayed away from them this week and let them play on their own. We've practiced hard all summer and I knew if we just came in here and played our normal game, we would win."
Payton's Annie Quast cruised to the individual title after shooting a 41 on nine holes.
"I had a few bad rounds here in the previous weeks, but I tried to put that behind me," Quast said. "Still, I didn't have super high expectations for myself. But I wanted that, because I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself."
Quast started off a bit slow, but caught fire as the day went on.
"I started out with double bogey and I tried to put it past me and I parred No. 2 so it gave me more confidence," Quast said. "I try to keep a positive attitude but in the back of your mind you're thinking 'bad start.' "
Quast had a chance of breaking 40 when she walked onto the final tee needing a par for 39. But a double bogey gave her a 41, which was still good enough for a three-stroke win.
"Last year I came in second place and that surprised me because I only had been playing two or three months," Quast said. "This year I knew I was coming in with the best stats. But I still had no idea coming in if I was going to win it. This means a lot."
Right behind Quast were teammates Marisa Carroll and Blake Murphy, who tied for second with 44's.
"I wanted to play good golf and help our team win a city championship," Murphy said. "I really like golf and I enjoy playing it."
"There was pressure because we have done well this year, so that pressure is a little stressful," Carroll said. "You don't want to completely blow up at city championships. But we focused."
Carroll has had her own concerns as the season winds down. In late August she had to have her appendix removed.
"I spent all summer working and had surgery and I thought 'It was all a waste of my time,'" said Carroll, who took two weeks off before she started swinging again. "It was just getting back in the swing of things. So much of it is muscle memory. It wasn't painful, just painful playing poor for a week."
For Murphy and Co., winning the city title is just the first step.
"Right now, I think our team is looking at (regionals and sectionals) as our big chance to prove ourselves," Murphy added. "I think this will help us out. I think we'd be the first girls golf (Public League) team to get to sectionals and any time a city team gets to sectionals in any sport, it's a big thing."
"When they hired me they wanted to win the conference and city," Kurotsuchi said. "So what we do next is just bonus. But I think they're good enough to advance."
Tying for fourth place with 46's was Payton's Kelsey Iwaoka and Northside College Prep's Tanya Nagatani.
"I know our team isn't as good as last year because we lost two of our best seniors," Nagatani said. "We knew we couldn't win city but we could still come out and make a good showing."
Nagatani felt a bit of nerves playing in the city championship, and that led to a so-so day.
"None of my putts would drop," Nagatani said. "I was pretty shaky inside and that's probably why they wouldn't drop. I couldn't par a hole and I only birdied one. It was a really inconsistent day."
Nagatani's teammate, Kristie Hack, took home sixth place with a 43.
Quick 6 kicks off second half
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