FAIRFIELD BAY - The Jessieville Lady Lions picked up an 18-over-par 90 from senior Paige Rusheon and steady play from her teammates to capture the Class 3A girls golf state championship Monday afternoon at the Mountain Ranch Golf Club.

Jessieville finished with a 319 to take the team title over Charleston’s 326. Bismarck was third with a 339 and Camden Harmony Grove - led by individual medalist Christian Barrett - was fourth with a 341.

“The girls had a very good day, and I couldn’t be any more proud of them,” Jessieville Coach Matt Carter said. “I thought we’d have to come in around a 305 to have a chance to win it. But obviously it was a tough day on the course for everybody.

“Paige is capable of shooting lower than that. But we hung in there. The girls have worked hard all year long, staying out on the course two or three times a week. They really deserved to get what they got today.”

In addition to Rusheon’s 90, juniors Jade Green and Alisha Davis shot 109 and 120, respectively, to round out the top three for Jessieville.

“This is a tough course to play,” Carter said. “You had to keep it in the fairway and for them to grind out a 319 and win a state championship, I am very pleased with them.”

Barrett, a junior, bested the field with a 5-over 77, seven shots better than Charleston’s Emilee Niessl, the runner-up who was also last year’s 3A medalist. Fordyce’s Brittney Burford was third with an 87, while Rusheon tied with Fountain Lake’s Megan Youngblood in fourth. Last week, Barrett finished second to Burford intheir district tournament.

“I thought I had a really good day out there overall,” Barrett, who also earned medalist honors at the Mountain Ranch course in 2011. “I had a few mess-ups on the front nine, but I came back and played well on the back nine. The hole I had the most difficulty with was the par-5 No. 8. I had a good tee shot, but my second went into a briar patch. I ended up with a double-bogey on the hole.”

Barrett shot a 5-over 41 onthe front nine and an even-par 36 on the final nine holes.

The second best finisher for Camden Harmony Grove was Kaylee Mantooth with a 107, 30 shots behind Barrett.

The top three golfers - Barrett, Neissl and Burford - qualified for the overall state tournament.

Up next CLASS 7A SITE Lost Springs Country Club, Rogers DATES Today and Wednesday DEFENDING CHAMPION Conway LAST YEAR’S RUNNER-UP Fayetteville NOTABLE The tournament will be a two-day affair with the 7A-Central and 7A-West conference champions to be determined on the first day. Scores from the second day of play will be added to the first-round scores to determine a state champion. … Last year’s champion, Summar Roachell of Conway, was a four-time medalist of the event. … Fayetteville junior Anna Grace Lavy finished second in last season’s tournament with a 154. Mount St. Mary’s sophomore Taylor Loeb shot a 161 and finished third in last year’s event. … From the red tees, the Lost Springs course measures 4,744 yards. The longest hole on the course is the 435-yard, par-5 12th. The shortest hole is a 78-yard, par-3 11th.

CLASS 6A SITE Marion Golf & Athletic Club DATES Today and Wednesday DEFENDING CHAMPION Greenwood LAST YEAR’S RUNNER-UP Benton NOTABLE The tournament will be a two day affair with the 6A-East and 6A-South conference champions to be determined on the first day. Scores from the second day of play will be added to the first-round scores to determine a state champion. … Marion’s Brooke Alford is a three-time defending state champion of the event. Alford shot a two-day 156 at Greystone Country Club in Cabot last year to earn a three-stroke victory over Benton’s Grace Lile. … Olivia Loiacano finished third in last year’s event and is back for Jonesboro. … From the red tees, the Marion course measures 4,459 yards. The longest hole on the course is the 380-yard, par-5 second. The shortest hole is a 65-yard, par-3 13th.

CLASS 1A SITE Cooper’s Hawk, Melbourne DATE Today DEFENDING CHAMPION Mount Vernon-Enola LAST YEAR’S RUNNER-UP Taylor NOTABLE Host Izard County is among the favorites. Jordan Sherrell of Izard County shot a 102 last week to help the Lady Cougars earn a district title. Sherrell finished third in last year’s Class 1A state tournament at the Magnolia Country Club. … Kyhlie Phillips of Shirley should also be among the contenders. Phillips finished fourth in last year’s Class 1A tournament and won the 2-1A district tournament at Tannenbaum Golf Club with a 91. … From the forward tees, Cooper’s Hawk measures 5,362 yards.

Sports, Pages 22 on 10/01/2013