The Marshalltown girls’ golf program will have state meet representation for the eighth year in a row.

MHS senior Harper Wilson and sophomore Morgan Hilderbrand both advanced as individuals from Wednesday’s Class 4A Region 3 tournament at the American Legion Memorial Golf Course, logging top-six finishes to lead the Bobcats.

The rest of the team, however, won’t be joining them.

Marshalltown missed out on advancement by a measly four strokes, finishing third behind Norwalk (343) and Cedar Rapids Prairie (354) with a 358 team total. The Bobcats were the only team in contention outside of the top two finishers as Johnston (373), Ankeny Centennial (374) and Dowling Catholic (376) comprised the middle of the pack in Wednesday’s 10-team meet.

It was something of a bitter pill for the Bobcats to swallow, having missed out on last year’s state tournament by 10 strokes. Having a senior leader like Wilson, however, helped the adversity go down.

“Everyone thought about different shots where they could have made up some strokes, but you’re just reminding everyone that it’s never on one person,” said Wilson, the lone senior on the Bobcats’ roster. “You know, we all had places where we could have shot a little better, made some different decisions, but at the end of the day we did the best we could. We played the round, it’s over, and all we can do is improve from there.”

Wilson’s perspective will go a long way for the future of the program, MHS head coach Lucas Johnson said.

“Harper has meant an awful lot to the team,” he said. “She’s just a calming presence and she doesn’t get very rattled and I think the girls followed her lead in what it takes from a demeanor perspective and an attitude perspective on the golf course. Because when your leader has that focus and isn’t flappable, everybody else starts to fall in line.

“I think that sets a good program tone moving forward, and we’ve had that for a lot of years, so that’s something that I think our culture does really well with.”

Wilson shot an 11-over-par 82 to finish in fourth place while Hilderbrand earned the sixth and final individual spot for state with an 85. Wilson was a part of the Bobcats’ 10th-place state team in 2024, while this will mark Hilderbrand’s state meet debut.

With three holes to go, she made herself more nervous than she needed to be.

“The last three holes that really kicked in,” she said. “I was really scared and I just tried to contain myself and keep myself calm and not scared and nervous. It was hard because I looked at the leaderboard and for the last three holes I was just like freaking out, just trying to make my putts, and it all worked out.

“I wish I would not have looked at the scores, but it’s fine because I made it.”

Johnson’s only official team policy on scoreboard-watching is not about whether a golfer looks, but how they react to what they see.

“I think there are times when you want to know where you stand,” he acknowledged. “I mean, in competitive golf there are leaderboards and people make decisions based on where they’re standing. So I think it’s OK, but I also think, we have the message that you can’t control what other people are doing — you can’t play defense in golf — so you can only do what matters for your score and for your game.”

Johnson followed his own advice when it came to wondering how the team standings would turn out for his hopeful Bobcats.

“To be honest, I don’t look at it a ton while I’m out on the course,” he said. “I looked probably after 14 holes and we were very close at that point — I think we might have even been tied — so at that point, it was like ‘game on.’

“As we were totaling them up, I saw that (Cedar Rapids Prairie) score at the top and knew that it was going to be hard to make up. And we came close, but it’s all about those last few shots in those last two, three, four spots, you know?”

Prairie’s Kylie Wachtl reached the clubhouse with a 4-over-par 75 for runner-up honors behind Des Moines East’s Saleah Vivanh Vong, who carded an even-par 71 to win the regional.

Without a Henson on the roster for the first time since 2018, the Bobcats didn’t have the super-low round to offset Wachtl’s score and narrowly missed out on getting back to state.

Freshman Avery Polley finished in with a 95, while junior Emma Clawson closed out the team’s scoring with a 96. Fellow sophomores Hanna Osgood shot 99 and Kamryn Price carded a 103.

“It’s always more fun to be there as a team,” Johnson said. “Overall I’m proud of the way the girls battled. They were in it throughout. It played out exactly like it was supposed to on paper … and we just came up a little bit short.

“But for Morgan and Harper, I thought they played really well down the stretch. They were inside (the top six) and had some girls chasing and putting some good shots out there. So for them to hold it together and put together a good finish is something that they can build on. And I’m sure they’re excited to go to state as they should be and thinking about what’s coming next week.”

The 4A girls’ state golf tournament is May 28-29 at Waverly Municipal Golf Course with a 9 a.m. shotgun start on the first day and tee times on the second day beginning at 8:30 a.m.

“It means a lot because last year we were really hoping to get to state and we just came up a little short in our regionals,” Wilson said. “So getting to state as my last thing (as a Bobcat) will be fun. There’s not much you can change in a week, so it’s just staying confident in myself and going out and practicing what I know how to do, that’s what’s important.”

Hilderbrand was just happy to have made it to state for the first time.

“It means a lot,” she said. “We tried our best. Obviously we didn’t qualify as a team, but to be qualifying as an individual means a lot and I feel like I’ve worked for it and I’ve finally accomplished it.”

Class 4A Region 3 Final

American Legion Memorial Golf Course, par 71

Team Standings — 1. Norwalk 343, 2. Cedar Rapids Prairie 354, 3. Marshalltown 358, 4. Johnston 373, 5. Ankeny Centennial 374, 6. Dowling Catholic 376, 7. Des Moines East 415, 8. Fort Dodge 424, 9. Newton 432.

Individual (top 6) — 1. Saleah Vivanh Vong, DME, 71; 2. Kylie Wachtl, CRP, 75; 3. Evelyn Kinney, NOR, 81; 4. Harper Wilson, MHS, 82; 5. Addie Smith, NOR, 83; 6. Morgan Hilderbrand, MHS, 85.

NORWALK (343) — Kinney 81, Smith 83, Hayden Clausen 88, Sofia Stevens 91, Aubrey Heaverlo 93, Emma Audette 101.

CR PRAIRIE (354) — Wachtl 75, Kate Walker 88, Macey Burns 93, Nadia Pint 98, Kendall Palmersheim 107, Norah Palmer 120.

MARSHALLTOWN (358) — Wilson 82, Hilderbrand 85, Avery Polley 95, Emma Clawson 96, Hanna Osgood 99, Kamryn Price 103.

JOHNSTON (373) — Hannah Hattel 92, Katelynn Bidney 93, Sophia Newman 93, Lily Bowersox 95, Avery Toyne 103, Keely Koenigs 106.

ANKENY CENTENNIAL (374) — Cate Trewet 86, Gretta Borich 91, Kyler Jones 94, Madi Trosper 103, Teagan Skinner 108, Maddy Gochoel 113.

DOWLING CATHOLIC (376) — Meg Lock 89, Kennedy Hobbs 93, Addie Theobald 94, Macy Miller 100, Bella Bonanno 101, Milly Lorbiecki 104.

DM EAST (415) — Vivanh Vong 71, Ella Hearshman 105, Addison Stancil 119, Berenice Perez 120, Lainey Warren 127, Breana Butts 141.

FORT DODGE (424) — Emma Lloyd 92, Kinsley Nelson 104, Emersyn Lara 110, Brielle Crouch 118, Allison Baade 124, Gracie Harvey 125.

NEWTON (432) — Addie Ratcliff 93, Teeah Yoder 111, Mary Ham 112, Sloan Brodersen 116, Brooklyn Sterling 124, Sophia Maharry 127.

DM LINCOLN — Emelin Cruz-Reyes 135, Ixchel Marquez 151.