Local Players Compete In NJCAA Div. I Women's Golf Championship

Two local players competed in the 2022 NJCAA Division I Women's National Golf Championship in Sanford, Florida in May.

Effingham High School graduate Kennedy Collier is a sophomore at John A. Logan College while Teutopolis graduate Averie Bushue is a freshman at Rend Lake College.

John A. Logan finished first in the Central District championship while Rend Lake was second. John A. Logan's whole team advanced toe the Nationals while two members of Rend Lake College advanced.

Collier finished 66th overall with a 363 total. Her teammates finished as follows: Olivia Quigley tied for 63rd with a 362, Emily Harmon was 80th with a 390, Elizabeth  Eastham 77th with a 374 and Zoe Williams 83rd with a 424.

John A. Logan placed 14th as a team with a total of 1,473.

Bushue claimed 68th with a total of 365 while her teammate Natalie Messinger was 61st with a 356.

Winning the National Championship at the Mayfair Country Club was Seminole State College of Florida. The Raiders led the whole tournament and finished with a team total of 1,198. They finished with a 296 in the opening round, a 300, a 305 and another sub-300 at 297 in the final round.

The title is the third straight national championship and fourth women's golf national championship in the history of Seminole's program.

Minori Nagano of Seminole State was the medalist with a 71-72-74-71 for a total of 288. The Raiders had four players in the top six.

Finishing behind Seminole State were Daytona St. College 1,244, Iowa Western CC 1,283, Mesa CC 1,297, Eastern Florida State 1,299, Dodge City CC 1,306, McLennan CC 1,317, Redlands CC 1,321, Tyler JC 1,349, Ranger CC 1,386, Barton County CC 1,392, Wallace State CC 1,402, John A. Logan 1,473 and Kishwaukee CC 1,951,

Kennedy Collier

Averie Bushue