Moniteau’s girls golf team recently won its third consecutive District 9 championship. Team members include, from left, front, Hayden Hilliard, Kendall Sankey, Mariska Shunk, Sammie Smith and Taylor Voloch; back, coaches Sue Scialabba and Cindy Brown. Submitted Photo

CHERRY TWP — Good teams win a lot. Great teams win most of the time. Few teams win all the time.

Count Moniteau girls golf among the few.

The Warriors recently wrapped up their third consecutive District 9 championship, beating out runner-up Clearfield by a whopping 34 strokes at the Bavarian Hills Golf Course. Moniteau shot 331 as a team, Clearfield 365.

This is only the school’s girls golf program’s sixth year. Scialabba and assistant coach Cindy Brown have run the program all six seasons.

“Our numbers have steadily increased every year,” Moniteau coach Sue Scialabba said. “We had 11 come out for the squad in our first year. We have 18 golfers now. That gives us more chances of qualifying a quality team for the district tournament.”

The Warriors won every KSAC Mega Match this season, along with the district title. Golfers had to average at least 58 for nine holes to qualify for the D-9 tourney. Seniors Mariska Shunk, Taylor Voloch, Kendall Sankey and Sammie Smith, along with freshman Hayden Hilliard, all hit that standard.

Shunk and Voloch tied for third place individually at districts with a score of 110. Sankey placed fourth with a 111. Those three girls have been on all three Moniteau district title teams.

Smith came out for the team for the first time this year.

“I just took up golf a year ago,” Smith said. “A lot of my friends are on the team and it looked like fun, so I decided to join.

“Everyone was very patient and welcoming to me. If I did bad one day, they would just encourage me to do better the next.”

Shunk and Sankey all took up golf as freshmen. Voloch started her sophomore year. It didn’t take them long to come together on the golf course, individually and as a team.

“So much of the game is mental,” Voloch said. “If I’m having a bad day before I start playing golf, I usually have a bad day on the golf course. You have to stay positive.”

“Golf is something my dad and I can do together,” Shunk said. “That’s one of the reasons I decided to take up the game. Plus, it’s a sport I can continue to play when I get older.”

Sankey had the highlight shot of the season, using her 8-iron to put the ball in the hole from 150 yards out for an eagle on a par-5 at Hi-Level.

“My strength is probably my irons, my second and third shots,” Sankey said. “I originally came out for golf because I needed a sport to do during the fall. I like to stay busy.”

Attending a small high school, these girls are involved in other school activities as well. Smith has been a cheerleader, Sankey plays basketball and runs track, Shunk plays softball and Voloch is involved in academic decathlon.

Scialabba admires the dedication of her golfers.

“We put a lot of time into this,” the coach said. “Right after school lets out for the summer, we practice at All About Golf three days a week. Our home course is Aubrey’s and we’ll go there from time to time as well.

“We have a good bunch here. These girls want to get better and they work to get better.”

Sankey said some practice days are spent on certain skills, such as driving the ball or chipping.

“We have individual, regular practice, too, but those skill days are very helpful,” she said.

While the Warriors are graduating these four seniors, Scialabba does not anticipate the girls golf program fading in performance.

“We’ve got a number of freshmen who barely missed the (district) qualifying cut, by a stroke or so,” she said. “I feel like we’ll be back with another strong team next year.”