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Top prep stars ready for battle
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Roller, Sides top prep list
by scott wright
High school state golf championships are set to be held around Oklahoma in early May, but top junior golfers already have been making names for themselves locally and nationally. Here’s a look at the deep, talented group of young players, with the top-10 girls and boys golfers in the state for the 2022 season:
GIRLS Jenni Roller, Sr., Regent Prep
A two-time state champion in Class 2A, and moving up to 3A this year,
Jenni Roller Roller easily could have been going for her fourth consecutive state championship this spring if not for the COVID-19 cancellation of the 2020 season. She also won the OGA Junior Amateur match play title and the OJGT Tour Championship, while posting a 72.0 stroke average in OJGT events last year. Bound for the University of Tulsa, Roller is on the fringe of the top 200 in the national rankings, according to Junior Golf Scoreboard.
Raychel Nelke, Sr., Pocola
You could make a strong case for Nelke ahead of Roller as the top girls player in the state. Nelke, who is headed to OU, has a higher
Raychel Nelke national ranking according to Junior Golf Scoreboard (130) and AJGA (110), but when they’ve squared off in the state’s top events — in particular, the 2A state tournament and last year’s OGA Junior Amateur — Roller has come out on top.
Olivia Coit, Sr., Edmond Memorial
A top-300 player on Junior Golf Scoreboard, Coit is headed to Arkansas State. She had the top OJGT stroke average (71.2) for 2021 among players with at least four rounds played, and finished third in Class 6A last year, to go with a pair of top-fives in AJGA events.
Olivia Coit Brooklyn Benn, Sr., Oklahoma Christian School
Fired 68-64 at Westwood Park in Norman to post a 10-stroke victory in the 3A state tournament last year, Brooklyn Benn her seventh win of the season. Posted a 74.8 OJGT stroke average and tied for first at the Oklahoma Junior Masters, losing a playoff for the title. She has signed with Wichita State.
Beans Factor
Peyton Coburn
Beans Factor, Fr., Ada
Her real name is Peyton, but you can call her Beans. And you can call her one of the best young golfers in the state. Only a freshman at Ada, she will be a force in 4A for years to come.
Peyton Coburn, So., Bishop Kelley
Coburn tied for fourth in the 5A state tournament as a freshman last year and posted a 75.8 stroke average on the OJGT circuit.
Jaiden Gregston, Jr., Duncan
Among a talented group of contenders for the 5A tiJaiden Gregston tle after finishing sixth last year, along with a pair of top-16 finishes in AJGA events.
Rylee Roberts, So., Edmond North
Rylee Roberts
As a freshman, Roberts took seventh in the 6A state tournament. She had an OJGT stroke average of 78.0, which included a win in the South Lakes Junior Shootout.
Mimi Hoang, Jr., Westmoore
Had the eighth-best stroke average on the OJGT circuit last year at 74.9 and a pair of top-25 AJGA finishes.
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
GIRLS
May 1-2 6A: Lincoln Park West, Oklahoma City 5A: Chickasaw Point GC, Durant 4A: Buffalo Rock, Cushing 3A: Lake Murray GC, Plainview 2A: Aqua Canyon. Guthrie
BOYS
May 5-6 6A: Jimmie Austin OU GC, Norman 5A: Duncan G&TC, Duncan 4A: Boiling Springs GC, Woodward 3A: Lakeview GC, Ardmore 2A: Buffalo Rock, Cushing
Jaci Hartman, So., Turner
As a freshman last year, Hartman was the 2A runner-up, seven strokes behind Roller and one stroke ahead of Nelke, while leading Turner to the team title. Others to watch: MaKay-
Jaci Hartman lee Cowan, Jr., Yukon; Gracie Doke, Sr., Jenks; Aubrey House, Sr., McAlester; Mikayla Karanja, Sr., Durant; Lily Stanton, Jr., Jenks.
BOYS William Sides, Sr., Cascia Hall
A top-50 player in both major national ranking systems (19th in AJGA, 41st in Junior Golf Scoreboard),
William Sides Sides was the Class 3A runner-up last spring and has four top-25 finishes in AJGA events, including a tie for second in the prestigious Western Junior last summer. Sides has signed with Southern Methodist.
Ryder Cowan, Jr., Oklahoma Christian School
Committed to Oklahoma, Cowan is 46th in the AJGA rankings and 74th
Ryder Cowan on Junior Golf Scoreboard. Cowan was the Class 3A runner up last year behind current Sooner Drew Goodman. Cowan also has four top-10s and three more top-20s on the AJGA circuit, including a win at the Gateway First Bank Tulsa Junior last August.
Ben Stoller, Sr., Owasso
player on Junior Golf Scoreboard and was second in stroke average on the OJGT circuit last season at 68.7. Stoller has signed with Kansas State.
Jake Hopper, Sr., Norman North
The OU signee is ranked 115 by Junior Golf Scoreboard. He led the OJGT in stroke average last season at 68.5 and reached the OGA Junior Amateur match play semifinals to go with four top-25s in AJGA competition.
Jake Hopper
Bryant Polhill, Jr., Oklahoma Christian School
Just on the edge of the top 200 in the AJGA rankings, Polhill was third in the highly competitive 3A state tournament last year and won the AJGA Preview at College Station, Texas. He also reached the finals of the OGA Junior Amateur match play championship.
Bryant Polhill
Parker Sands, So., Edmond North
Sands had a strong close to the summer on the AJGA circuit, finishing third in his last two appearances, at the Gateway First Bank Tulsa Junior and the Accenture Northwest Arkansas Junior. That vaulted him into the top 150 in the AJGA rankings. He also posted the lowest OJGT round of the season with a 62 on his way to winning the Lake Hefner Shootout.
Parker Sands
Gudgel had a 70.0 stroke average on the OJGT circuit, including a win at the Battle of Broken Arrow. He finished in a tie for seventh at the 6A state tournament last spring and was 22nd or better in all four AJGA events he entered, with three top-10s.
Josh Stuart, So., Norman North
William Hennessee, So., Bishop Kelley
With back-to-back rounds of 69, Hennessee won the OJGT Tour Championship by five strokes at Shawnee Country Club last fall. He was the 5A runner-up and holds a top-250 national ranking on Junior Golf Scoreboard.
Mesa Falleur, Sr., Muskogee
Last year’s fourth-place finisher at the 6A state tournament, Falleur had the third-best OJGT stroke average of the season at 69.0, including a win in the Muskogee Fall Classic. Yet another player in the state’s incredibly deep and talented sophomore class, Stuart is just outside the top 200 on Junior Golf Will Hennessee Josh Stuart Scoreboard. He tied for seventh at the 6A state tournament last spring and posted an OJGT stroke average of 70.0. Others to watch: Conner Cryer, Sr., Tipton; Rhett Hughes, Jr., Edmond Santa Fe; Drew Mabrey, Sr., Holland Hall; Benton Manly, Fr., Regent Prep; Sam Morris, So., Jenks; Parker Payne, So., Noble.
