Jackson’s Schlitt earns silver at Class 4 Girls Golf Championships at Dalhousie; Notre Dame notches second in Nixa

It was only fitting that the 2024 MSHSAA Class 4 State Girls Golf Championships were held just down the road from Jackson High School.

Over two days and 36 holes of golf against Missouri’s most elite high school competition, Jackson junior Julia Schlitt turned in an unforgettable performance behind a second-place finish at the Dalhousie Golf Course in Cape Girardeau.

“I feel very grateful and am very blessed for this opportunity and for everybody to be here and watch it,” Schlitt said. “For it to be here is just a big advantage for me. My thoughts are everywhere right now, but I had a lot of fun.”

Schlitt, who made her third state tournament appearance after placing 39th as a freshman and 27th as a sophomore, followed up an 8-over par on the opening day with a terrific even par Tuesday to end her 2024 campaign on a high note. Schlitt, who tied for second with St. Dominic senior Annabelle Bush, finished just one stroke shy of a state title, only trailing St. Joseph’s Academy sophomore Tess Guignon, who finished with a 153.

At the final 18th hole of the tournament, Schlitt, who overcame heavy wind and difficult terrain, sent her home crowd into applause with a beautiful wedge on her third shot that lofted and dropped just a few feet to the left of the hole. One stroke later, she smoothly sunk her putt to make birdie and cement a top-two finish with a 154 total.

“The 18th hole is definitely one of the hardest out here,” Schlitt said. “The green’s huge and there’s definitely some obstacles. I had a really good drive down the middle and I knew on the second shot there were bunkers on each side, so I had to get it straight down the bunkers. I was committed to the shot again and I hit it straight down the middle, right in between the bunkers. After that, I just knew I could do the rest.”

Schlitt entered Day 2 on the cusp of all-state honors (top 15) with a tie for 15th place after an up-and-down Monday, but completely shattered that standing and looked like an entirely new golfer.

“Athletes, a lot of times, talk about being in the zone,” third-year head coach Jeff Fahrner said. “She was in the zone today. I mean, man, just every single shot was just grab a club, hit it perfect. Her putter was working. Driver was perfect. An even par round today. It's unbelievable.

“I was coaching her, but all I was doing was giving her high fives after she hit perfect shots. It was unreal, and it's not an upset by any means. She's a fantastic player. She works harder than anybody in her game. She got what was coming to her.”

Following sixth- and fourth-place team finishes in Class 4 over the past two seasons, Jackson barely missed the cutoff to compete for the state team title after only qualifying three golfers after districts (four is the minimum). Fahrner still felt confident about his team’s ceiling, saying: “Had we had a fourth girl in there, we’d be making some noise on that team leaderboard today too.”

Thrower and Mooty make big strides

Following behind Schlitt were fellow junior state qualifiers Madison Thrower (83-86-169) and Ava Mooty (90-103-193).

Thrower, who Fahrner describes as “a rock” for her unshakeable poise, had a consistent two-day outing at Dalhousie and showed noticeable growth following her 48th-place finish at states in 2023.

Perhaps her top highlight of the tournament came during the 18th hole in the opening round Monday, when Thrower connected on a long putt behind two flawless strokes to climb the ladder and eventually place 25th in the state by tournament’s end.

“Mostly this season, I've been trying to focus on my speed more so than my alignment,” Thrower said. “Just trying to get it there (the green) to have a chance to just tap it in. So when I made it, it was a great feeling.”

Thrower said she wants to place more of an emphasis on her driving and short game this offseason in order to make the leap to all-state honors 365 days from now.

“I think I did pretty good this season,” she said. “I had good days and I had bad days, but they were all pretty low 80s up to around mid-90s. So, I would consider that pretty consistent.”

Mooty, who placed 67th, qualified for the state tournament in her first full season playing competitive golf after splitting time on junior varsity and the volleyball team as a sophomore.

“My goal at the beginning of the season was to make it to state,” Mooty said. “I made it to state even though I didn't do what I wanted to. It was a good season to make it to my goals.

“I think I just am starting to realize like, it's just a game. Just shake it off, go to the next hole and don’t let it affect you or your score will completely go down. So, just have fun. I mean, it's only a game and it won't last forever.”

The good news heading into next year? All three golfers return.

“It makes my job easy,” Fahrner said with a chuckle. “We’re gonna be tough next year. The teams that we play are going to be in trouble, let's just put it that way. We're looking to have a big year next year.”

Notre Dame caps off Class 2 State Championships with runner-up finish

About four hours west of the Dalhousie Golf Course, Notre Dame finished in second place at the Class 2 State Girls Golf Championships at the Fremont Hills Country Club in Nixa.

Head coach Kirk Boeller’s Bulldogs tallied a score of 710, only trailing St. Louis powerhouse MICDS High School, which finished with a 684 total.

Paving the way were top 10 finishers in junior Grayson Maurer and senior Eliza Barnette. Maurer pieced together a solid second round of 6-over 78 to finish with a 160 total, which was good enough for fifth in the state. Barnette, who placed 25th in the Class 3 state tournament in 2023, took her game a step further this year and bowed out with a 171 total to place eighth in the state.

Barnette’s younger sister, Luciana, also made a ton of noise after finishing in 18th as a freshman behind a 186 total.

Seniors Silvia Schallberger and Isabella Palmer posted near-identical totals of 195 and 196, respectively, to close out their high school careers with 27th- and 30th-place finishes at the Class 2 tournament.