Richmond girls golf coach Breann Battagler and her varsity Spartans handled a heatwave and their competition in their opening week.

Combining to shoot a 198, the Richmond girls won their Sept. 1 triangular with Clinton and Harrisonville. Clinton, the host school, finished second with a 205. Harrisonville shot a 220.

“Couldn’t ask for more from them,” Battagler said. The Spartans then won their Sept. 2 quadrangular with Lawson, Excelsior Springs and Norborne at Shirkey Golf Course. Richmond shot a 210 – two strokes ahead of runner-up Lawson. Excelsior Springs, led by a 55 (+17) from Allison Deere, finished third with a 277. Norborne recorded a 305.

The Spartans handled temperatures that easily topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit as they pursued their victory.

“They deserve the biggest kudos in the world because it was so hot,” Battagler said that evening in the Shirkey clubhouse. “I got tired and I wasn’t even playing golf. And they had to walk nine holes. So I have a lot of respect for them for d…