This story originally appeared in the Oct. 20 edition of the weekly LINK Reader. To get these stories first, subscribe here.
And now, a little more down time for the Cooper High School girls golf team.
“It was a long season, but we had a lot of fun,” senior Kendall Brissey said. “We’ve had a heck of a ride, for sure.”
Cooper placed third at the state golf tournament, capping an unprecedented four-year run featuring program firsts, team records, individual team marks and a bucket full of memories.
“I had a great time playing golf and building relationships,” said senior Eva Maley. “Everybody did a great job.”
The Jaguars have won four consecutive Region 7 girls golf championships and five straight Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference crowns. They won a program-record seven tournaments this year. They shot a school record 289 team score at the St. Elizabeth tournament at Kenton County Pioneer and carded a team total of 313 at the Region 7 tournament. The Jaguars posted their second-best state tournament round score of 316 this year en route to a final score of 643 for a third-place finish, just one shot out of second. The Jaguars have finished top-five at state four years in a row, including third the past two years and fifth two straight years.
How big of an improvement are those totals? The Jaguars in 2018 shot a regional team score of 433.
“Mind-blowing,” Brissey said. “It’s crazy to think how much we’ve improved. That’s a credit to our coach. He’s helped us be better golfers and better people. All of us are really close.”
The team’s superstar agreed.
“The four seniors have become some of my closest friends,” junior Reagan Ramage said. “They showed me how a team should work. All the young girls on our team, they contributed, too. It was a team effort.”
Ramage has won the Region 7 individual championship four straight years. She’s also a two-time NKAC champ with victories in 2020 and 2021 and runner-up finishes in 2022 and 2023. She placed tied for fourth individually at this year’s state tournament after finishing fifth last year. She medaled at a pair of regular season tournaments and finished with an 18-hole tournament average of 72.8 with a low score of 69. She was named first-team all-state for the second year in a row.
“Reagan is the ultimate competitor who thrives on playing against top competition,” said coach Joe Deters. “While her skills are exceptional, so is her preparation. Her ability to play through tough stretches is what sometimes separates her from the field.”
If not for the gifted Ramage, Maley might be regarded as the region’s top player. Also a first-team all-state pick, Maley has been consistently right behind Ramage at most events and has sometimes finished ahead. Maley placed fourth at the Region 7 tournament and was previously third and runner-up twice. She’s won the NKAC tournament each of the past two years and finished runner-up twice. She shot a career-best 68 at this year’s St. Elizabeth tournament. She carried an 18-hole tournament average of 75.3.
“Eva is one of the hardest workers I’ve coached. Combined with her ability, it has made her a top player in the region for five years,” coach Deters said. “If she struggled with a part of her game during a tournament, she was out the next day working specifically on that. It was rare that she struggled in a round twice in a row.”
Brissey, named second-team all-state, finished tied for second at the Region 7 tournament and was previously runner-up, and third twice. She was fourth at this year’s NKAC tournament. An Indiana Wesleyan University commit, Brissey was a regular-season stalwart with four tournament wins, including two with back-to-back scores of 69, a career-low. Her 18-hole tournament average was 76.3.
“It was so great to see Kendall have the type of year she had,” Deters said. “She worked hard and was able to improve her approach shots and short game to become an elite player.”
Senior Ava Finke is overshadowed by her star teammates, but she’s a solid golfer. Finke finished seventh at both the Region 7 tournament and NKAC event. Her 18-hole tournament average was 86.4 with a low of 81.
“Ava really grew. She went from a player who could crush the ball to a player that could play facets of the game,” Deters said. “During her sophomore year, she was stuck behind more experienced tournament players but was ready last year to step into the top five, and the team didn’t miss a beat.”
Senior Sydney Koenig finished 10th at the Region 7 tournament. Her 18-hole tournament average was 105 with a low of 87.
“Sydney made the top five on the team this year,” Deters said. “She’s another incredibly competitive player who doesn’t want to give up anything. I appreciate the effort she made to improve.”