Killingsworth shines at state

Mt. Vernon golfer makes strides in playoffs
 
Mt. Vernon sophomore Kenadi Killingsworth is no stranger to playing at the highest level of high school golf. As a freshman, she medaled in conference and district play earning a spot in the state tournament. She was able to shoot a 106 in day two in miserable conditions to make 38th out of 75 golfers.
“Last year was a lot tougher, so it really helped with my mental game this year. Last year also taught me how to get out of tough situations,” Killingsworth said.

This year, Killingsworth has been on a mission to return to the state tournament. She has dominated all year long and found herself with a seventh-place finish in the district tournament shooting a 93, just three strokes from a second-place finish.

“She started off shooting very good early on this season and as the year went on, she deals with a bit of adversity with her swing, but she kept working on and we saw a lot of progress as of late and the results speak for themselves," said coach Tom Hagerman. "It has been a culmination of all of that and it resulted in a fantastic performance at districts under adverse weather conditions.”

Her finish at districts was good enough to advance to the state tournament. Killingsworth started a little shaky shooting a 50 through the front nine due to some difficulty in the short game. She was able to bounce back nicely, though, in the back nine and finished with a 93 after day one, sitting in fourth place overall.

The second day started just as the first day ended, with Killingsworth playing very good golf. As she went to the back nine, some struggles in the short game continued as she had to four-putt a pair of holes. She was able to bounce back once again and finished shooting a 97 for the day, good for a seventh-place finish.

“Well, it can always be better. I had a lot of fun. My putting was a little off at times. Other than that, I had a lot of fun,” Killingsworth said “I will definitely use this experience to improve next year but finishing top 10 this year is a big honor.”

Killingsworth looks to return to the state competition next season for the third straight year as a junior.