Mizzou women’s golf took home its fourth consecutive first-place title at the Johnie Imes Invitational from Oct. 2-4.

The tournament, hosted by Missouri at The Club at Old Hawthorne, is particularly special for the team. Not only is it the team’s only home tournament, but it partners with an organization called Rally for Rhyan, which works to raise awareness and funds for pediatric cancer research.

In the fall of 2015, then-five-year-old Rhyan Loos, daughter of Brad Loos, a former Mizzou men’s basketball assistant coach, was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma. Shortly after she started kindergarten, she started to get frequent headaches, suffer from attitude problems and eventually developed an unexplained limp. Out of concern, her family took her to a doctor only to be told their daughter had cancer.

Since Rhyan’s diagnosis, the Loos family has partnered with different events and organizations to raise money, both locally and nationally. The Missouri men’s basketball team has designated a yearly home game as its #RallyforRhyan game to raise funds in support of pediatric cancer research since 2015; its first two #RallyForRhyan Games raised more than $100,000.

Two years ago, women’s golf head coach Stephanie Priesmeyer was inspired by a Facebook post from Jen Loos, Rhyan’s mother. The post contained an article about taking action to support pediatric cancer awareness. After talking with the Loos family, Priesmeyer decided to make “Rally for Rhyan” the beneficiary of the annual Johnie Imes Invitational. Brad and Jen worked with Priesmeyer to make the tournament a meaningful experience for the teams that compete.

“We take the 14 teams that compete and pair them with a child that has pediatric cancer,” Brad said. “We initiate conversation between the team and the players and hopefully let these players know what these kids deal with on a daily basis. We raise a little bit of money, but more than anything, we raise a lot of awareness.”

According to Brad, supporting the cause gives perspective to the teams and the coaches because it is easy for college athletes to get wrapped up in the game or the competition.

“I think it’s an eye-opener for these athletes,” Brad said. “I think it makes them think about how fortunate they are to be able to play college golf and to be able to do things that normal college kids do. For cancer patients, nothing is promised; tomorrow is not promised. I think it teaches all of us to value life a little bit more and appreciate being healthy and living a normal life.”

Brad said the partnership with the Johnie Imes Invitational is a great way for competing teams to develop lasting bonds with the children. It allows for the visiting teams to bring its experiences back to its home campus and raise awareness.

“The Mercer women’s golf team had gotten really close with the young lady they were paired with from Georgia,” Brad said. “They ended up taking her to a movie, a women’s basketball game and doing a bunch of other great things with her. I think there have been a lot of cool relationships built and gives a new perspective on what pediatric cancer is and what it looks like.”

The Loos family has used its daughter’s fight against cancer as an opportunity to engage the community and the country in raising awareness. With the help of the Loos family, the Tigers were able to share their win at the Johnie Imes Invitational with pediatric cancer patients and the Rally for Rhyan community.

_Edited by Joe Noser | jnoser@themaneater.com_