EVANSTON – Temperatures were hovering in the mid 30s and a combination of rain and sleet was falling from the sky on a windy Tuesday afternoon. 

Evanston senior golfer Alexis Cornell was asked how her final round went at the Class 4A state golf tournament as she made her way back to the clubhouse at Purple Sage Golf Course to await the final results. 

“Terrible,” Cornell said.

But that was hardly the case. 

Cornell shot an 81, the lowest score of the day, during the final round Tuesday to help lead the Lady Red Devils to a third-place finish with a team score of 572.

Kelly Walsh won the girls tournament with a 506 and Natrona was second at 561.

Cornell shot an opening-round 89 to finish the two-day event with a 170 to tie for second, individually, while earning all-state honors

Eventually, Cornell realized her round on Tuesday was anything but terrible.

“First place would have been pretty cool,” she said. “But I did play well today, so that made up for yesterday.”

Jacelyn Olson of Kelly Walsh won the individual championship after posting 82s on both days for a two-day total of 164.

Evanston’s Kyra Sponenburgh was also part of the all-state team after finishing tied for sixth. The junior shot a 91 both days for a 182 total. 

“I’m really happy,” Sponenburgh said. “I’m really happy I can say I’m one of the top-10 in the state.” 

Ally Hanson, who plays soccer in the spring, rounded out the scoring for Evanston with a 220 to finish 23rd. 

The junior was a key piece in the Lady Red Devils’ success.

“We put a lot of pressure on Allie Hansen,” Evanston coach Jerry Carroll said. “We said, you’ve got to come through for us to get in that top three.”

Despite recently joining the golf team after the conclusion of the soccer season, Hansen came through for the Lady Red Devils, who finished 63 strokes better than Thunder Basin, which took fourth with a 635.

“I think they did a fantastic job,” Carroll said. 

Prior to the state tournament, the Lady Red Devils had a goal in mind. They wanted to finish in the top three at state.

That mission was accomplished.

Now, Evanston is looking towards the future. The Lady Red Devils hope the success of the program will continue in years to come. 

The Lady Red Devils have made a name for themselves at the state golf tournament the past few seasons. Evanston won the team title in 2014 and was third in 2016. 

But that success has not equated into a higher number of participants. 

“Yeah, we still don’t get that many girls out,” he said. “We’d really like to have more. We feel like if we get young girls out, they’re going to be all-conference and all-state.

“We’ll continue to invite them. Say, ‘hey, come out. We think we can have great success with you.’”

The Lady Red Devils have already been proving that, and they did it again in 2017.  

While Evanston will miss Cornell next year, the Red Devils do have two strong returners in Sponenburgh and Hansen. The duo is already anxious to get back to work in hopes of hoisting a first-place trophy.

Sponenburgh and Hansen already have the endorsement from their senior leader and coach. Both Cornell and Carroll know both golfers will put in the work to compete at the highest level. 

“I know they will both continue to improve a lot,” Cornell said. “We just need more girls.”

Cornell’s high-school playing career was also one that climbed along the way and culminated with a solid ending for Cornell at her final state meet. 

She took ninth at state as a junior and was in the top-30 in 2015 as a sophomore. Cornell’s scores continued to drop along the way. 

Cornell’s career could be defined by the way she responded after her opening round on Monday. She shot a triple bogey on the first hole, but still managed to end the first day tied for third. 

“All I wanted to do was improve,” Cornell said. “I went out there, played well and did my best. That’s all I could do.”

Cornell has prided herself on being able to bounce back after a bad shot or a rough hole. She said it is one of the biggest strengths of her game. 

“If I bogeyed or three-putted, I came back from it,” Cornell said. “If I hit a bad shot, I recovered really well.”

She credits a lot of that to her supporting cast, including Carroll, assistant coach Travis Robinette, Jesse Lind, Kipp Jones, Scott Ehlers, along with her parents, grandfather and teammates. 

Cornell said her support system helped her, not only come back from shooting an opening-round 89 to an 81, but to help her improve and succeed throughout her playing career 

“It has strengthened my mental game,” Cornell said. “I played more confident.”