The makings of a state champion: SHS girls golf grabs first title

POST FALLS — State titles aren't just given out overnight, they are earned with years of dedication and persistence.

The Sandpoint girls golf team is a prime example of that.

About eight years ago, a pod was formed — CeCe Deprez, Hattie Larson, Camille Neuder and Annaby Kanning. All four were in fifth grade and they started playing golf together.

The friendship between the four was already tight, but golf made them inseparable.

At the time, Mike Deprez, the current Sandpoint golf coach, called the group the 2020 state champions. Replace the last zero with a one, and he was spot on.

On Tuesday at The Links Golf Club, the foursome led the team to its first state title in school history.

It all started with a father, Mike, wanting to pass his love for the game of golf onto his daughter, CeCe, and it ended with the ultimate prize.

"It's been eight to 10 years of these girls going to clinics and following me around," Mike said, "and this was ultimately the goal. For a 10 year odyssey to finally be fulfilled, there's a certain amount of relief, but there's also a melancholy feeling because it's over."

Mike set the bar high when he crowned the group future state champs, but the girls came through in their final opportunity as seniors.

"It does seem a little surreal because I definitely threw it out there," he said about the proclamation years ago.

Neuder said she couldn't write a better ending to her high school golf career.

"This is our last time we get to play together, what an incredible way to go out," she said.

In 2019, the girls were able to capture a third-place state trophy, but they knew they were capable of more. The 2020 season was destined to be the year where it all came together for them, except the world had different plans.

Finally in 2021, they sealed the deal, and Larson said having last season taken away made this victory even more special.

She said the original pod, which also included Karsen Granier, wouldn't have stuck together without CeCe and Mike.

"We owe it all to Mike, honestly," she said. "Camille, Annaby and I, I think we can say we would not have played golf without him and CeCe because he made it enjoyable, he made it fun and he made it easy. Everything just came together and he put so much time and effort into it."

Mike, who took over as the head coach in 2019, said all the members of the pod are like daughters to him, and a state title wouldn't have been possible without the buy-in of all their families.

"I wanted to make sure the Sandpoint golf program went to another level and it did," he said, "and I wanted a banner and we got it."

After players finished their final rounds of the 4A state tournament on Tuesday, they all gathered around the scorer's table anxiously awaiting the results. The Bulldogs were tied for first with Bishop Kelly after day one, so they and everyone in attendance expected things to be close.

Larson opted to stay away from the tense crowd. Instead, she practiced her chipping and putting in order to be prepared for a playoff if one was needed to determine a state champ.

"Seeing them tally it up was only a couple of minutes, but it felt like so long," she said.

Fortunately, a playoff wasn't needed as Sandpoint beat Bishop Kelly and Twin Falls by 18 strokes.

It was a comfortable victory for the Bulldogs on a day where the conditions were just brutal. Gusts of wind between 20-40 miles per hour impacted the golfers all day and it showed in the scores. However, the Bulldogs weathered the storm and didn't let the conditions derail them.

Mike said he told the girls the night before day two of the tournament they would need to be mentally tough to emerge victorious, and he credited his assistant coach, Sarah Walter, for getting that message through to them.

"Sarah helped drive home that it's going to be a long day out there and it's the team that has the resiliency out there and patience that's going to pull it out," he said. "Never did these girls let the round get away from them and we saw that out there."

The wind wore out all the teams, but not SHS.

Larson shot an 89 on the second day to finish in a tie for seventh, earning state medalist honors for the second time in her career. CeCe carded a 90, Neuder posted a 91, Kanning had a 95 and Audrey Sheffler finished with a 110.

Neuder said the girls play every round for each other and she believes that made a difference.

"I think the reason it has been possible is how much we enjoy just getting to play together," she said.

Coming in, the Bulldogs also had a leg up when it came to course knowledge. The fearsome foursome has been competing on The Links since middle school, and that experience paid off.

"I think it helped us mentally prepare for [state] because it wasn't like we had a long bus ride and we didn't know the course," Larson said.

In their first appearance at state since 2016, the boys finished seventh out of 10 teams.

On the second day, Dawson Owens shot an 89, Harley Wilks recorded a 93, Jake Samuels posted a 94, Connor Bird had a 96 and Darren Bailey finished with a 97.

Owens, Wilks, Bird and Bailey are all seniors, but Mike said their legacy will be felt in the program for years to come.

"Harley, Dawson, Darren and Connor kind of set an enthusiastic, committed benchmark for the kids that follow for what it takes if you want to be competitive," he said. "They set a tone for how much golf we expect these guys to play."

Neuder said she will hold onto this moment for the rest of her life.

"The state trophy is wonderful, but I will 100 percent forget my best golf score, and I'm going to forget the bad shots and the good shots I had on this course," she said, "but I will never forget how much fun I had playing with these girls and I will take that with me forever. I'm definitely sad to see that part go."

4A state golf final results

The Links Golf Course

Par 73

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sandpoint 358-365—723. 2 (won tiebreaker), Bishop Kelly 358-383—741. 3, Twin Falls 363-378—741. 4, Century 369-380—749. 5, Minico 374-393—767. 6, Skyline 390-395—785. 7, Hillcrest 398-426—824. 8, Canyon Ridge 425-415—840. 9, Middleton 419-429—848. 10, Ridgevue 461-462—923.

STATE MEDALISTS (Top 10) — 1, Margaret Smock, Bishop Kelly, 78-85—163. 2, Dallis Shockey, Minico, 82-83—165. 3, Hailee Cole, Skyline, 85-81—166. 4, Ava Schroeder, Twin Falls, 83-85—168. 5, Ava DeFranco, Bishop Kelly, 81-88—169. 6, Lauaren Aasand, Century, 81-89—170. 7 (tie), Ava Young, Minico 76-97—173, Hattie Larson, Sandpoint, 84-89—173. 9 (tie), Challis Potter, Hillcrest, 85-94—179, Sofia Lippiello, Century, 91-88—179.

SANDPOINT — Hattie Larson 84-89—173, CeCe Deprez 92-90—182, Annaby Kanning 92-95—187, Camille Neuder 90-91—181, Audrey Sheffler 110-114—224.

BISHOP KELLY — Margaret Smock 78-85—163, .Ava DeFranco 81-88—169, Gia Godina 98-102—200, Madelyn Madarieta 101-108—209, Payton Mooney 106-108—214.

TWIN FALLS — Ava Schroeder 83-85—168, Remi Pedersen 94-96—190, Mackenzee Burnham 88-104—192, Cierra Bohrn 98-94—192, Lena Nelson 111-103—214.

CENTURY — Lauren Aasand 81-89—170, Sofia Lippiello 91-88—179, Maddie Bland 98-92—190, Emmy Richards 102-108—210, Secorra Osborne 123-134—257/

MINICO — Dallis Shockey 82-83—165, Ava Young 76-97—173, Malia Manning 109-106—215, Skyler Anderson 107-112—219, Jaycee Matthews 113-107—220.

SKYLINE — Hailee Cole 85-81—166, Drew Chapman 98-97—195, Karli Mickelson 99-107—206, Taryn Chapman 107-112—219, Sophia Anderson 112-124—236.

HILLCREST — Challiss Potter 85-94—179, Ellie Billings 90-101—191, Zoe Hansen 103-109—212, Lily Duque 120-122—242.

CANYON RIDGE — Maddie Bland 92-98—92-98—190, Megan Peacock 99-102—201, Amelia Jensen 115-107—222, Kadynce Neitzke 113-114—227, Sophia Bradbury 134-130—264.

MIDDLETON — Olivia Lammey 84-96—180, Gabriella Burmudez 105-109—214, Amy Ockerman 110-109—219, Rylee Brocke 120-115—235, Bria Corder 121-119—240.

RIDGEVUE — Kelsey Elliott 91-99—190, Avalynn Creaser 121-110—231, Sage Stroud 122-127—249, Addy Delgado 127-126—253, London Forester 143-131—274.

OTHER INDIVIDUALS — Adri Ruffing, Mountain Home, 86-99—185; Mack Miller, Jerome, 90-96—186; Noelia Reyes, Shelley, 94-107—201; Jessica Orr, Pocatello, 95-95—190; Annika Robins, Emmett, 97-98—195; Gabrielle Cleaver, Nampa, 99-91—190; Madisyn Thelen, Wood River, 106-97—203; Sammy Wyne, Columbia, 108-106—214.

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Twin Falls 311-328—639. 2, Middleton 313-341—654. 3, Bishop Kelly 349-325—674. 4, Shelley 336-347—683. 5, Skyline 346-347—693. 6, Century 343-351—694. 7, Sandpoint 352-372—724. 8, Nampa 352-374—726. 9, Jerome 362-366—728. 10, Canyon Ridge 367-374—741.

STATE MEDALISTS (Top 10) — 1, Derek Lekkerkerk, Twin Falls, 70-77—147. 2, Kade Anderson, Century, 74-79—153. 3 (tie), Braden Anderson, Twin Falls, 72-83—155, Nate Nelson, Shelley, 74-81—155. 5, Bryden Brown, Moscow, 76-80—156. 6, Parker Edwards, Wood River, 81-78—159. 7 (tie), Curtis Seidel, Middleton, 76-84—160, Seth Floyd, Middleton, 79-81—160. 9, Kobe Peterson, Ridgevue, 75-86—161. 10, Jackson Porter, Preston, 79-83—162.

TWIN FALLS — Derek Lekkerker, 70-77—147, Braden Anderson 72-83—155, Gabe Schroeder 81-84—165, Isaac Fortuin 88-84—172, Mason Swafford 89-91—180.

MIDDLETON — Seth Floyd 79-81—160, Devon Laprath 77-87—164, Luke Clark 81-89—170, Carter Cozakos 85-94—179.

BISHOP KELLY —Andrew Moodie 87-79—166, Aydon Dyson 89-78—167, Lincoln Hale 83-86—169, Lucas Worthington 90-82—172, Henry Gale 91-102—193.

SHELLEY — Nate Nelson 74-81—155, Henry Higham 80-87—167, Brecker Williams 99-93—192, Cooper Mitchell 100-102—202.

SKYLINE — Giles Anderson 88-82—170, Davis Mickelson 83-89—172, Andrew Christensen 91-95—186, Luke Peterson 96-91—187,

CENTURY — Kade Anderson 74-79—153, Nash Harding 87-85—172, Kaden Horton 89-102—191, Emmett Holt 99-93—192, Spencer Payne 94-93—187.

SANDPOINT — Dawson Owens 85-89—174, Harley Wilks 85-93—178, Darren Bailey 91-97—188, Connor Bird 96-96—192, Jake Samuels 91-94—185.

NAMPA — Ryan Grove 78-85—163, Ethan Higgins 83-96—179, Ryan Lerdall 92-92—184, Rigdon Reddish 99-101—200, Pierson Deming 107-107—214.

JEROME — Vincenzo Di Lucca 86-80—166, Austin LeBaron 90-86—176, Conor Ward 90-99—189, Daniel Wise 97-101—198, Talyne Koyle 96-107—203.

CANYON RIDGE — Tyler McBride 86-85—171, Kyle Richins 91-93—184, Brock Parsons 92-99—191, Carter Richins 98-97—195, Xander Laraway 98-105—203.

OTHER INDIVIDUALS — Bryden Brown, Moscow, 76-80—156; Parker Edwards, Wood River, 81-78—159; Karter Barfus, Bonneville, 83-92—175; Eric Patterson, Hillcrest, 84-83—167; Ethan Pearson, Preston, 85-91—176; Luke Kloer, Minico, 86-95—181; Tate Pearce, Wood River, 92-92—184; Ty Elingza, Hillcrest, 92-94—186; Ryan Lerdall, Nampa, 92-92—184.