Piddon defends title, Barton women's golf earns seventh straight national bid

The Barton Community College women's golf team earned the program's seventh straight trip to the national championships as five Lady Cougars finished in the Region VI's top ten this past weekend at Hutchinson's Carey Park Golf Course.

The Lady Cougars dug a ten stroke deficit hole after the opening round of the Region VI Championships with Dodge City Community College's three-headed monster leading the Conquistadors' spoiling of Barton's bid for its fifth straight region title.  Dodge City increased their lead by fifteen on the final day to conclude the thirty-six hole championship with a twenty-five stroke 661 victory over Barton's 686 while Coffeyville finished in third with a team score of 771.

The final leaderboard looked a lot like it did after the first day as Barton's Peerada Piddon was at the top with a large lead and Dodge City locked in at the next three positions while the Lady Cougars dotted the board with four others amongst the top ten.

Piddon, who won the title last year by three strokes over teammate Leeseo Park, opened up a first day seven stroke lead with a 1-over par 72 before closing with a 74 to finish at 146.  The second straight region crown, along with four conference meet titles, was the sixth individual title this year for the Thailand sophomore.  Bringing her career victory total to ten, Piddon's upcoming trip to Nationals will be seeking to improve on her seventh place 2016 national finish where she became the first Lady Cougar All-American.

Dodge City owned the next three spots as Kanyakorn Chothirunpanit and Orakorn Thirayatorn flip-flopped positions in the standings after the first day with Chothirunpanit grabbing the second spot at 152 in matching Piddon's low round firing a 72 on the final day.  Thirayatorn finished up with a 158 with Rachanok Rahulpan's 163 next in the standings.

Coffeyville had two players in the top ten and thus earned a trip to nationals as Cheyenne Musser's 166 earned the fifth placing while Jordan Lee finished in a seventh place tie at 181.

Kendra Jellison came in second for the Lady Cougars carding rounds of 89-87 for the sixth spot and five strokes ahead of the Raven's Lee and fellow teammate Miranda Kern.  Opening with a 93 and in the eight spot, Kern made the largest Barton improvement in the final day improving five strokes to close with an 88 to finish at the seventh place tie.

Lucia Rodriguez Zapico also had an improved second round following a 94 with a 90 to finish ninth at 184 while Mackenzie Fabrizius rounded out the team entries carding consistent 93-94 rounds to earn a spot at nationals by one stroke coming in tenth place.

Taylor Becker led three Lady Cougar individualists posting a 197 with consistent 99-98 rounds with Janae Champlin and Olivia Neuenswander both finishing with a final score of 202 for the tournament.  

Finishing in the nation's top-thirteen the past three seasons, Barton will shoot for another high placing on the national stage competing at the 2017 NJCAA Women's Golf Championship held May 15-18 at the Chateau Elan Golf Club located in Duluth, Georgia.  

Team Standings (Final - 36 Holes):
Dodge City CC – 661
Barton CC - 686
Coffeyville CC – 771

Individual Standings (Final – 36 Holes):
1. Peerada Piddon (Barton) – 146
2. Kanyakorn Chothirunpanit (Dodge City) - 152
3. Orakorn Thirayatorn (Dodge City) – 158
4. Rachanok Rahulpan (Dodge City) – 163
5. Cheyenne Musser (Coffeyville) – 166
6. Kendra Jellison (Barton) – 176
7. Miranda Kern (Barton) and Jordan Lee (Coffeyville) – 181
9. Lucia Rodriguez Zapico (Barton) - 184
10. Mackenzie Fabrizius (Barton) - 187