Lady Cats 3rd at state tourney

Behind Mary Michael Maggio's runner-up showing, Conway's Lady Cats finished third in the Class 7A State Golf Tournament at Greystone Country Club in Cabot on Tuesday.

Emma Lavy of Fayetteville held off Maggio, the defending champion, on the third playoff hole after both finished 18 holes at 3-under-par 69.

"I'm disappointed," Maggio said. "I had opportunities to win, and I didn't capitalize. She played great and I just handed out strokes."

Fayetteville shot 219 to win its fourth consecutive state title. Rogers was second at 228, followed by Conway, 248; Fort Smith Southside, 265; Springdale Har-Ber, 267; Russellville, 273; Van Buren, 284; and Cabot, 298.

"She played beautifully all day," CHS coach Janet Taylor said of her four-year all-state player. "She was so Mary Michael-like she was throwing darts at the hole all day. She nearly holed out two or three times."

Maggio, who has committed to LSU, birdied No. 17 but missed a three-footer for birdie on No. 18 that would have sewn up the title.

"I am so proud of her, the way she grinded it out," Taylor said. "Her maturity showed. She was calm and poised."

Lavy nearly ended things on the first extra hole, a par-4. Maggio hit a five-wood off the tee, chipped up and made birdie. Lavy put her driver a couple of feet from the hole but missed her eagle putt.

On the final hole, Maggio hit her drive in the rough and couldn't go for the green in two. Lavy hit her approach to 18 inches and dropped the birdie.

"It was just a great high school match," Taylor said. "We play such short yardages; the field came back to Mary Michael. But that's high school golf in Arkansas. We're behind the other states, but we hope to change that."

Haley Sanders, who lost to Maggio in playoffs for the Class 7A state championship and the Overall last year, finished third at 70.

Stephanie Tran of Fort Smith Southside finished fourth at 71; Lindsay Parks of Bentonville was fifth at 73. Conway's Erika Setzler shot 74 to tie Micah Radler of Fayetteville for sixth. Katie Petrino and Olivia Lavy of Fayetteville and Laura Beth Dubois of Rogers rounded out the top 10 and the all-state honorees with 76s.

Other Conway scores were Kesley Roberts, 105; Brooke Lea, 119; and Lacie McCollum, 132.

Maggio will have a chance to defend her Arkansas High School Overall title, which will be a 27-hole competition for the first time at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.

"I think that will give her a big advantage," Taylor said. "It's a tougher course, and I think she'll be the heavy favorite."

Maggio, as usual, put the best spin on her day.

"I wanted to go out on top, but I have a chance at Overall," she said. "That's the great thing about golf at the Overall, everybody's there. It's another chance for you to compete.

"As much as I like to win, I can also look forward to the Overall and get excited for that."