Junior Golf News ►
Prestigious High School Golf Award Presented
by Patrick J. McMahon, contributing writer
In the classroom, Krystyn earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.8 on a 4.0 scale for his four years at Blue Valley North.
Krystyn was a four-year leader on the Blue Valley North golf team. He also competed on the school’ s boys’ volleyball team and soccer team.
Krystyn was heavily involved in the Peer Mentors Program at Blue Valley North, wherein he worked with students in the Intensive Resources Special Education Classroom.
The annual Kenneth Smith Award was presented to Drew Krystyn on July 28 in a ceremony at Blue Valley North High School. The award is sponsored by the Kenneth L. and Eva S. Smith Foundation. It is awarded annually to both a Greater Kansas City Area High School female and male golfer who best demonstrate excellence in the following areas:
● Performance in high school golf tournaments
● Academic Achievement
● Leadership on the golf team and in other school areas
● Community Service, through school, church or other activities
All area high school golf team coaches and athletics directors were invited to submit nominations for this award.
As a senior at Blue Valley North High School, Drew Krystyn finished in the top five in each regular season tournament, including a first-place finish at the Topeka Country Club Invitational. He finished eighth at the Kansas 6A East Regional, followed by a first-place finish at the Kansas 6A State Championship Tournament held at Firekeeper Golf Course with a four-under-par score.
Photo by Brent Maycock, KSHSAA
According to Krystyn’ s coach, Trenton Hedlund,“ Drew is the model of consistency, doing the work when no one is watching. He consistently works on his craft that earned him a D1 scholarship.” Krystyn plans to continue his education this fall at Saint Mary’ s College of California, playing Division 1 golf for the Gaels golf team.
In recognition of Krystyn’ s outstanding performance during this past school year, a representative of the Kenneth L. and Eva S. Smith Foundation presented a $ 5,000 contribution to The First Tee of Greater Kansas City to support its cutting-edge child development programs, which teach life skills to over 10,000 local kids annually.
A companion Kenneth Smith Award was presented last fall at the conclusion of the girls’ high school golf season to Ella Slicker, a recent graduate of Shawnee Mission East High School.
This program concludes the 27th Anniversary Year for the Kenneth Smith Award program. Patrick J. McMahon, the representative of the award, would like to thank everyone who has participated in this program, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of Greater Kansas City high school student-athletes in golf.
For additional information, please contact Patrick J. McMahon at 913-491-9855 or at plemcmahon @ earthlink. net.
( Photo of Drew Krystyn with trophy by Katie Cowan.)
12 September 2026 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE