Poplar Bluff's Olivia Thetford finishes all-state at T11

FARMINGTON — Last season, Poplar Bluff’s Olivia Thetford carded rounds of 92 and 91 in her first state tournament as a Lady Mule to finish with a 183.

On Tuesday, she finished her final round at this year’s MSHSAA Class 3 Girls Golf State Tournament where she shaved 29 strokes off of last year’s score to finish in a tie for 11th to be the first Poplar Bluff girls golfer to earn all-state honors.

But Thetford wasn’t the only Poplar Bluff golfer to improve their score as sophomore Rhyan Waddell shaved 22 shots off of her score from a year ago. Waddell shot an 83-83 to finished in a tie for 29th at Crown Pointe Golf Club in Farmington.

Nevada’s Emree Cameron shot a 67-67 to finish with a 134 to win this year’s state tournament by seven strokes over Mehlville’s Evangelina Brown.

St. Dominic won the team portion with a 650 while Westminster finished second with a 692.

Thetford’s round Tuesday featured two birdies as she finished just three-over-par, including a 37 on the windy back nine.

“She just knew what she had to do,” Poplar Bluff head coach Tyler Davis said. “She kept her head in it. She had some holes that look like it might have been a little shaky in the beginning but she was able to recenter and do what she needed to do.”

On Monday, Waddell’s day didn’t end how she wanted and even though she followed it up with the same score on Tuesday, she wasn’t too far off from all-state contention as top-15 earns the accolade. Three players finished with scores of 159 to finish in a tie for 15th, just seven shots ahead of Waddel’s 166.

Davis said the future is bright for Waddell as she continues to get better.

“That just goes to show she did a lot of work in the offseason,” he said. “She really focused on trying ti improve her scores and improve her game. I’m looking forward to her coming in next year and doing the same thing because she’s right there with all-state. She’s can do that again. She’s got the drive for it.”

Both golfers return for the Mules next season and Davis said their No. 3 golfer is already improving her scores, which means good things as a team for Poplar Bluff next season.

“They can give them something to reach for,” he said of the state duo’s impact on the team. “Something to look forward to. Olivia and Rhyan last year, they barely made it to state. This year, they improved so much that they were able to go that route without much worry. As long as they keep doing what they’ve been doing, keep grinding and keep focusing.”