Bailey matches his best finish at state golf event

MEADOW VALLEY, Wis. — St. Thomas Aquinas Academy’s Kaiden Bailey as well as the Lena High School boys golf team participated in the WIAA Division 3 State Golf Championship at Blackwolf Run this week.

For Bailey, this was his fourth consecutive appearance at the WIAA Championships, and the Cavalier senior matched his best individual finish with a tie for 11th among 52 individuals.

Play on the Par 72, 6,464-yard course was shortened to just nine holes as heavy rains prevailed during Monday’s opening round.

Bailey shot five-over par (41) and was sitting 14th on the leaderboard before rain shut the course down on Monday.

Tuesday, he fired a seven-over round of 79 that included a birdie on the 375-yard par-four second hole to finish at +12 (120) for the tournament.

The Wildcats made their second appearance at the Championship and took home fifth place for a second consecutive season after shooting +88 through 27 holes.

Lena was tied for fifth with Cochrane-Fountain City after nine-holes on Monday.

On Tuesday, Braden McVane paced a round of 348 for the Wildcats with a card of 77. That secured fifth place for the Wildcats who finished one stroke behind Bonduel.

McVane finished tied for seventh at +11 (119) for the tournament.

Mason Belongia tied for 29th at +23 (131) while Mason Spice was one shot further back in a tie for 33rd. Drake Dionne tied for 44 th at 140, and Evan VanderZanden tied for 48th at 147.

Mineral Point won the team championship, claiming its first title in eight appearances at the State Championship. The Pointers had finished as the Sate runner-up last season after placing third in 2022.

Logan Wissinger, a senior out of Durand-Arkansaw, took the individual title at +5 (113), besting last year’s champion, Kian Bystol Flores (Cambridge) who tied for second with Carson Mesberger (Elkhart) at +6 (114).

2024 WIAA Team ScoresMineral Point +51/483, Chetek-Weyerhaeuser +71/503, Cambridge +81/523, Bonduel +87/519, Lena +88/520, St. Mary’s Springs +89/521, Cochrane-Fountain City +91/523, Prentice +104/536

Lena ScoresBraden McVane T7, +11, 42-77-119, Mason Belongia T29, +23, 42-89-131, Mason Spice T33, +24, 39-93-132, Drake Dionne T44, +32, 51-89-140, Evan VanderZanden T48, +39, 49-98-147.

Individual MedalistKaiden Bailey (St. Thomas Aquinas Academy) T11, +12, 41-79-120.

Senior finishes tied for 11th place