K-State Earns Second-Place Tie at Prairie Dunes

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – With a second-consecutive round of 10-over par 290 on Tuesday, the Kansas State women's golf team earned a tie for second place in the OU Intercollegiate held at par-70, 6,005-yard Prairie Dunes Country Club.

The Wildcats posted a two-round total of 20-over par 580 to tie with Eastern Michigan in an event that was shortened to 36 holes due to inclement weather on Monday. K-State finished seven shots behind team champion Florida, which is ranked 14th nationally in the latest Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Coaches Poll. The Wildcats were five shots clear of the fourth-place team, No. 25 Baylor, and six shots ahead of the fifth-place team, No. 12 Oklahoma State.

"The ladies battled hard all week. It was certainly a total team performance," head coach Stew Burke said. "However, we are a little disappointed with the result and how we finished both days. This young group is going to learn to be more comfortable near the lead, especially those players who shared the individual lead at some point over the tournament."

A week after recording her career-best finish of a tie for sixth place at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational, senior Noa van Beek bettered that mark in the OU Intercollegiate as she led the Wildcats by tying for fourth place at 4-over par 144. The Oene, Netherland, native rose 16 spots on the leaderboard with a final-round tally of even-par 70 thanks to three-straight birdies to open the back 9. It was her sixth round of even- or under-par golf this season, while she posted her second top-10 finish in as many tournaments after three in her career coming into the 2025-26 campaign.

Sophomore Kelsey Chen and freshman Keen Visavapattamawan finished one shot back of van Beek and tied for 12th place at 5-over par 145 as both produced a final-round tally of 5-over par 75. A transfer from Georgia Southern, Chen collected her third top-20 finish in four events this season after six such showings over 14 events last year. Visavapattamawan has finished in the top 20 in three of her four starts this season.

Freshman Casey Kang was the biggest riser among the Wildcats on Tuesday, improving 27 spots to a tie for 25th place at 9-over par 149. The Lanzhou, China, native matched van Beek's even-par final round thanks to two birdies and a hole-out eagle on the par-4 14th. Kang made a 12-spot improvement from her collegiate debut when she tied for 37th last week at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational.

"I am delighted for Casey getting her first even-par collegiate round today and holing a big putt on her last green to help us tie for a second," Burke said.

Julia Ballester Barrio, who was competing as an individual, tied for 38th place at 12-over par 152. The junior finished one shot ahead of sophomore Nanami Nakashima, who tied for 41st place.

In addition to winning the team title, Florida also had the individual medalist in Megan Propeck, who was the only competitor in the 78-player field to finish in the red with a two-round total of 1-under par 139. She was four shots ahead of a tie for second place between Baylor's Yurang Li and Eastern Michigan's Baiyok Sukterm.

"We will now have some good time at home to rest up and work on a couple of elements to be ready for our home tournament in a few weeks," said Burke.

K-State concludes its fall slate by hosting the Powercat Invitational, October 20-21, at Colbert Hills. The event is free and open to the walking public.

– k-statesports.com –

How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

Players Mentioned

Julia Ballester Barrio

Kelsey Chen

Casey Kang

Nanami Nakashima

Noa van Beek

Keen Visavapattamawan

Players Mentioned

Julia Ballester Barrio

Kelsey Chen

Casey Kang

Nanami Nakashima

Noa van Beek

Keen Visavapattamawan

Kansas State University Athletics