St. Thomas More junior Rylan Horning is a state golf champion once again. The Cavaliers upperclassman finished the 2025 ‘A’ girls state golf tournament at the Madison Country Club with a score of +15.
Horning finished three-strokes better than Claire Crawford of Aberdeen, who finished runner-up. Kaitlin Strain, another golfer from St. Thomas More, placed third with +19 for the tournament. Strain won the state championship last year.
“It was joyful. Especially when I heard our team won,” Horning said gleaming. “It makes you realize how much work you put in, and your work is paying off.”
As a team, St. Thomas More won by five-strokes finishing a combined +112. Sioux Falls Christian finished at +117 as a team.
Horning won the ‘A’ girls tournament as a freshman in ’23. But last year she got hurt and was unable to defend her title.
“I suffered through a knee injury last year, so I couldn’t play. When I could chip and putt, I made sure to work on the short game and get better at that, and that’s what it came to at the end of [Tuesday],” Horning told.
It’s hard for any athlete to win multiple championships. But to have a taste of winning, get hurt, and then find the mental capacity to regain that winning mindset – not everyone can do that.
This one feels more real,” she said. “The first one was at home, so it just felt different. It feels real and coming after such a [challenging] part of my life, it really means a lot.”
As a junior, Horning will have another opportunity next year to try and win again.
“Golf has definitely impacted my life,” she exclaimed. “My life pretty much surrounds golf. Golf is like life, you’re going to have ups and downs, but you have to get through it.”
Horning has already committed to South Dakota State University to continue her golf career at the collegiate level.
