The Manhattan High Varsity girls golf team drove the competition home in two more meets this week, accumulating two more wins — making this their fourth and fifth first-place win of the season.

“We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to help each other out during practice,” senior Andi Siebert said. “I think just working together as a team and really getting along well has contributed to our first place finishes.”

On Monday, the team hit the road to play at Centennial League tournament, where the team secured first with another 347. Yerman placed first with a 79, Phipps took fifth with an 85, Siebert scored eighth with a 91 and Weixelman and Wisdom shot a 93 and 100. Additionally, the girls’ average score was 90.

“I think [my favorite part was] just the end when I finally found my score and I got to go celebrate with my team,” Yerman said.

The League tournament followed a big win on Friday when Manhattan traveled to Buhler to compete against 11 other teams and a total of 74 golfers, making this their largest tournament of the season thus far. The girls competed in foursomes, with two pairs from two teams, which is unheard of in previous Varsity seasons.

“Before this season, we hadn’t been able to play with each other at all,” senior Rhys Phipps said, “but with COVID-19 … our tournaments have looked a lot different, so we’re able … to motivate each other a lot.”

As a team, Manhattan placed first with a score of 347, Buhler took second, trailing behind by 22 strokes. Individually, Siebert scored first with an 81, Phipps placed seventh with an 87, senior Jaiden Weixelman took eighth with an 88, senior A.J. Ryan scored 11th with a 91 and senior Emily Yerman and freshman Rylee Wisdom shot a 94 and 101.

“We always have tournaments where we just need four solid scores. I think yesterday we finally had that,” Phipps said. “It felt good to have everybody playing well at the same time.”

Not only did Siebert take first, she won in a three-way-tie against senior Abby Donovan from Concordia and freshman Avery Blasi from Pratt. Siebert’s first place title was determined in a scorecard playoff, in which your score from your last nine holes are compared.

“It’s kind of crazy thinking back to freshman year, just how much I’ve improved just over these four years in the program,” Siebert said. “It’s really awesome being able to place first.”

This Thursday, the team will travel to Hutchinson and on Monday will host the Manhattan Invitational at Stagg Hill.