Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First

Moore leads Kimball to top three finish

The ladies golf program at Kimball High School opened their season on Aug. 22 at Sidney and senior Lila Moore led the team with a total of 133 for the course.

Teammate Maddie Cook, a freshman newcomer to the team, followed with a score of 148, Raven Johnson scored 152 followed closely by Natasha Selves with a 154 and Leisha Casimiro scored 175.

Coach Katie Culek said that the team's short game needs improvement and they will continue working on accuracy as well.

"The girls struggled to keep the ball in the fairway and in Sidney that is a make or break thing," she said. "They have been working hard this year already but there are a few things we need to work on."

Final scores for the meet show Shelby Poynter of Scottsbluff leading with just 74 strokes followed closely by Chadron's Alpine Hickstein with 78.

The team moved on to the Bayard Invite on Aug. 24, which is scored two ways, including the Western Trails Conference scoring.

With just two days to work on their game, the Lady Horns showed quite an improvement. Moore scored her career best with a 108 in Bayard, placing her 7th individually for WTC and 9th for the Bayard Invite.

Selves followed with a 153, Cook scored 155, Casimiro 159 and newcomer Kate Fraser 182.

Though they faced a field of tough competitors, the home team placed third at WTC and sixth for the Bayard Invite. Hickstein shot the meet best with just 78 strokes and the Chadron team took the team title with just 409. RyAnne Blau of Bayard and Molly Lambert of Bridgeport followed with 98 strokes each.

"The girls improved for the most part. I saw improvement mostly on their middle game and we will continue to work on their short game," Culek said. "As a coach I am very proud of the work they have already shown. Lila Moore has stepped up and become a leader for the lower-classmen and with that the girls are working hard and improving daily."