Guerin Catholic’s Sydney Delagrange lands hole-in-one, will receive personalized plaque
By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com
NOBLESVILLE – This year’s edition of the Hamilton County girls golf meet was exciting, eventful and historic.
The eight county teams met Thursday at Harbour Trees in Noblesville for the annual event. Carmel continued its undefeated start to the season with its fourth straight team win. The Greyhounds totaled a 303 to score their first win at county since 2020. It was also the first time Carmel won an 18-hole county meet; the tournament expanded to its present length in 2021.
Each team had a player step up as well. Westfield’s Addi Kooi put together a great round to earn medalist honors, with a one-under par 70. Carmel’s Michaela Headlee and Hamilton Southeastern’s Ella Bui provided the senior leadership, while Noblesville’s Josie Kelley and Southeastern’s Janelle Garcia took big steps forward as sophomores. All of those players finished in the top five individually.
The early excitement came from Guerin Catholic’s Sydney Delagrange. The Golden Eagles sophomore made a hole in one, scoring an ace on hole No. 5. Delagrange said that since there’s water around the hole, she wasn’t expecting to get “the most best result.”
“It got on the green, and I thought it was just going to be like a couple feet away,” said Delagrange. “But when it got in, I was just shocked, like, I didn’t know what to say.”
After she made the ace, Delagrange received many congratulations from coaches, teammates and family members.
“I liked that all the coaches high-fived me, and then my dad was really excited for me,” said Delagrange. “I like it when my dad high-fives me and gets happy for me, because sometimes he’s stone-faced.”
Delagrange’s hole in one will be permanently marked at Harbour Trees, as she is set to receive a plaque from the club.
“I’m excited about that, too,” said Delagrange. “I thought that was really cool that it says the date and the time and all that stuff on it.”
Guerin Catholic’s Sydney Delagrange provided some early excitement by making a hole in one. Delagrange aced the fifth hole, and would go on to lead the Golden Eagles team with an 85. (Photo provided)
“It’s fun to win this one”
Carmel won the team title by 16 strokes over Westfield and Southeastern, who tied for second place with 319s. After finishing third in last year’s tournament, the No. 1-ranked Greyhounds are enjoying this victory.
“It’s fun to win this one,” said Carmel coach Kelly Kluesner. “This is one that we’ve struggled with in the past. This course is hard. It’s tough. We struggle here. It’s such a great course, such a nice course. But if you’re not in the fairway or in the middle of the green, you got to work for every score out there. That was a challenge.”
The Greyhounds were, as usual, up to the challenge. Five Carmel players finished in the top 12, with Michaela Headlee tying for runner-up honors with an even-par 71, making four birdies in her round. Claire Swathwood took sixth with a 76 (two birdies), while Sophie Mock also birdied twice on her way to a 77 and seventh place. Kamryn Williams was eighth with a 79, while Maddie Headlee was 12th with an 83, making one birdie.
“They’ve all grown as players,” said Kluesner. “They’ve learned. They’ve been in so many different situations, and that’s what we really talk about. The experience comes from being in those situations, playing through it. Maybe it didn’t work out in our favor, but you learn for the next time.”
Westfield’s Addi Kooi scored a 70 during the Shamrocks’ Wednesday tournament at the Tipton Invitational, and she followed that up with another 70, this one a one-under par effort. Kooi made four birdies and clinched medalist honors with a par on the 18th hole.
Westfield’s Addi Kooi was the medalist at the county meet, scoring a one under par 70. It’s the second consecutive tournament where she has scored a 70. (Richie Hall)
Good friends
“We’re good friends,” said Kooi of playing with Michaela Headlee on Thursday. “We’ve competed for the last couple years and we all get along great. Seeing her shoot a great score just pushes me. It’s fun playing with her.”
Two more Westfield golfers, Sam Lemieux and Anna McKeown, tied for 10th place with 82s. McKeown had two birdies. For both Carmel and fourth-ranked Westfield, it was the fourth tournament in four days, with the State Preview meet coming up at Prairie View on Saturday.
“It’s definitely a lot,” said Kooi. “Especially for some of the new girls on varsity. It’s intimidating and it’s a lot in the first week, so I think just getting that out of the way puts us in great position for the post-season, and for sectionals and conference and all that.”
Tenth-ranked Southeastern’s Bui and Garcia both had outstanding tournaments, tying for fourth place with 74s. Bui made three birdies, including a back-to-back on the third and fourth holes. Garcia drained five birdies, including consecutive birdies on the first and second holes. Sophie Roberts also made two birdies in her round for the Royals, with Laci Hart making one.
No. 5 Noblesville was led by sophomore Josie Kelley, who lit up the Harbour Trees back nine. Kelley made back-to-back birdies twice, on 13 and 14, then on 17 and 18. She totaled five birdies for her round of 71, which tied her for second place.
Jordan Adam also reached the top 10, placing ninth with an 80 and draining one birdie. Olivia Fowler made two birdies and Olivia Anderson had one.
Delagrange scored an 85 for the Golden Eagles, who landed three players in the top 20. Sarah Rigg followed with an 86 and Ali Scott scored an 87; both made one birdie.
Kate Jansen led Fishers with a 98, while Elli Webster made one birdie. Taylor Morrison paced Hamilton Heights with a 101, while Grace Cates led University with a 102.
Team scores: Carmel 303, Westfield 319, Hamilton Southeastern 319, Noblesville 324, Guerin Catholic 353, Fishers 410, Hamilton Heights 459, University 498.
Medalist: Addi Kooi (Westfield) 33-37=70.
Carmel scores: Michaela Headlee 36-35=71, Claire Swathwood 39-37=76, Sophie Mock 38-39=77, Kamryn Williams 41-38=79, Maddie Headlee 39-44=83, Gabby Saber 53-52=105.
Other Westfield scores: Sam Lemieux 42-40=82, Anna McKeown 41-41=82, Lilley Ku 46-39=85, Sadie Edwards 46-45=91, Sophie Thompson 42-51=93.
Southeastern scores: Janelle Garcia 36-38=74, Ella Bui 36-38=74, Sophie Roberts 48-37=85, Natalia Nieset 46-40=86, Laci Hart 47-44=91, Karolina Franssen 43-51=94.
Noblesville scores: Josie Kelley 35-36=71, Jordan Adam 38-42=80, Olivia Fowler 39-47=86, Olivia Anderson 42-45=87, Peyton Kauzlick 45-46=91.
Guerin Catholic scores: Sydney Delagrange 41-44=85, Sarah Rigg 43-43=86, Ali Scott 41-46=87, Gracie Navarro 49-46=95, Avery Wall 59-51=110, Annie Murphy 60-61=121.
Fishers scores: Kate Jansen 46-52=98, Lola Kivett 45-54=99, Elli Webster 51-54=105, Maren Spencer 56-52=108, Sophia Rush 60-53=113, Ava Wellbaum 61-56=117.
Heights scores: Taylor Morrison 50-51=101, Presley Cherry 56-59=115, Camryn Runner 59-60=119, Tanner Penwell 59-65=124, Hadleigh Cherry 64-63=127, Emma Trees 64-71=135.
University scores: Grace Cates 51-51=102, Quincy Russell 61-62=123, Sophie Stratman 67-67=134, Maryn Stephenson 69-70=139.
Reporter photos by Richie Hall