Class 4A Girls State Tournament

Eagle helps make Weiner winner

Allie Weiner of Central Arkansas Christian shot an even-par 72 to take medalist honors Tuesday at the Class 4A girls golf state tournament at the Country Club of Arkansas in Maumelle.
Allie Weiner of Central Arkansas Christian shot an even-par 72 to take medalist honors Tuesday at the Class 4A girls golf state tournament at the Country Club of Arkansas in Maumelle.

Allie Weiner's eagle wasn't enough to derail Arkansas Baptist on Tuesday at the Class 4A girls golf state championship, but it made her day pretty special.

The sophomore from Central Arkansas Christian holed it from about 100 yards on No. 8 for her first eagle in tournament play as she took medalist honors with an even-par 72 at the County Club of Arkansas in Maumelle.

Weiner edged Arkansas Baptist freshman Katelyn Dunstan by a stroke for the title, and Taylor Reed of Arkansas Baptist finished third at 79 as all three advanced to the Overall tournament that will be played Oct. 16 at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.

Arkansas Baptist, which finished fourth a year ago, ran away with the team title as it claimed its first state championship since 2008. The Eagles shot 240, which was 15 shots better than CAC, which finished as the runner-up for the second consecutive year. Shiloh Christian (283) was third, Ozark (292) was fourth and Fountain Lake (299) finished fifth.

Arkansas Baptist could have used any combination of its three players to win the title. In addition to Dunstan's 73, senior Taylor Reed shot 79, senior Katie Young shot 88 and freshman Reagan Reed shot 89.

"I did not know about winning, but I knew we were going to compete,'' Arkansas Baptist Coach Angie Hopkins said of her expectation going into the tournament. "We are very excited. We love CAC. We have played against them forever. We knew it was going to be fun competition and we are very excited to take home that trophy.

"Our bottom two really did a great job today. They usually score a little higher, and they came in a couple of strokes lower and that really helped put us over the top."

Weiner finished fourth a year ago but made a big jump playing on her home course Tuesday.

"Today was a very consistent round,'' Weiner said. "I was pretty much making pars left and right, and then on No. 8 I holed out for an eagle from about 100 yards and then on No. 18 I made a 10-foot putt for par to win by one stroke.

"I knew that I had to pretty much finish strong to have a chance to win, because whenever I chipped it like 10 feet past the hole my dad was kind of nervous. I knew I had to make that putt to be able to win.

Weiner said she had spent a lot of time on the course in preparation for the state tournament.

"Yesterday I bet I shot about 100 putts from about 4 feet," she said. "I practice out here a lot. I've never had an eagle in a tournament or on this course, so that was kind of a big deal for me.

"I knew I had to play my best to beat both of the girls from Arkansas Baptist. I knew I had a shot, but I needed to play really well."

Sports on 10/01/2014

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