Kari Shepard now has a new goal in mind.

Entering her senior season at Kingfisher High School, Shepard had never broken 100 in a golf tournament during her career.

She busted through that barrier earlier this month in a tournament at Rose Creek.

Shepard did it again Wednesday, this time on her home Kingfisher Golf Course.

She fired a 94 to help KHS to a second-place team finish in the Kingfisher Large-School Invitational.

“It’s so exciting to meet personal goals, not only for me, but for my team, too,” Shepard said.

And the team did just that.

All five Lady Jackets shot in double-digits. It’s the first time that’s happened since Audra Smalley took over as head coach in 2019.

Kingfisher shot a 345.

Oklahoma Christian School, ranked second in Class 3A, won the tournament with a 327.

The tournament used the Maxwell format. Instead of dropping the highest overall score at the end of the round like a traditional tournament, the Maxwell drops the highest score on each hole.

It also allows a team to play together on the course.

“It was a great opportunity to watch all the girls play at the same time,” Smalley said.

“I was very impressed with the girls’ composure. They had the ability to forget about a bad hole and move on. They all contributed to our team score and when one girl would not have a great hole, the others would pick them up.”

Maddi Kamas shot a 76 and won the individual championship after a two-hole playoff with OCS junior Brooklyn Benn (see related story).

Like Shepard, Olivia Wilcox came in with a 94.

Kylie Hood shot a 98 and Katey Brickman a 99.

“It was great to see Kari, Kylie, Olivia and Katey come in clutch with some big pars and even birdies,” Smalley said.

The scores came despite howling northwesterly winds that saw gusts reach over 40 miles per hour.

The wind’s direction also dropped the temperatures.“That’s the fun thing about golf,” Shepard noted. “It’s about competing against yourself mentally and physically.”

Kingfisher out-competed 14 other teams. Cushing was third with a 355 and Perkins-Tryon fourth at 356.

Kingfisher, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, is seeing its scores drop as the playoffs are approaching.

KHS was fourth in the 2019 4A state tournament and was just four strokes behind the state runner-up.

Smalley and her squad hope to improve on that in 2021.

“They are so motivated to make the most of this season and they really are playing the best golf I have seen them play,” she said.

As for Shepard, it’s time to set new goals.

“It feels awesome to meet one goal and know you can do even better the next time,” she said.

“Next stop is to break 90.”