By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The busy first week of the IHSAA girls golf season finished last Saturday with a solid win for Westfield.
Westfield’s Kelsey Haverluck scored 75 to tie for third individually and was also a big part of the Shamrocks’ team win. (Julie Brown)
The Shamrocks won a back-and-forth battle with Zionsville to claim the State Preview meet at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. Westfield scored 319 to the Eagles’ 320; the Rocks took an early lead, weathered a Zionsville comeback during the middle part of the round, then moved back ahead during the last few holes to claim their second tournament of the week.
“Good start to the year for us,” said Westfield coach Josh Bryant. “Today we had three players that had never played the back nine and one of them had never played Prairie View. This is a place that normally, you need a few trips around, and very proud of how we hung in there and played.”
The Shamrocks were led by a splendid round from Addi Kooi, who scored a three under par 69. The senior drained three birdies during her first six holes to jump in front of the back, then solidified her lead by making two long birdie putts on the 15th hole (from 30 feet) and the 17th hole (from 35 to 40 feet). Kooi finished five strokes ahead of runner-up Alex Reschly from Northridge, who scored 74.
“This is my last State Preview, so I was really just blessed to be out here, enjoying every moment,” said Kooi. “It’s been a big part of the season for me. I’m just really excited to be out here and playing and enjoying every second of it.”
Westfield had two players in the top five, as Kelsey Haverluck finished in a three-way tie for third place with 75. Bryant said that when he heard “some of the louder ovations,” he knew that was likely Kooi making some of those big putts. “It was pushing Kelsey on,” he said.
“We talk a lot about being teammates on the golf course,” said Bryant. “It’s hard sometimes because you’re so separated, but you can really feed off good, positive body language. And then obviously when you’re seeing your teammates’ birdie putts fall and you’re hearing ovations, it certainly gives a positive energy and we try to spread that amongst the players.”
Sophie Raines scored 84 for the Rocks and Sadie Edwards totaled 91. Both made one birdie in their respective rounds.
Noblesville placed a strong third as a team, scoring 326. Josie Kelley scored a 78 to finish in 10th place individually. Olivia Fowler and Karis Shields both carded 82 and tied for 14th; Shields made two birdies and Fowler had one.
Carmel scored 352 as a team to take eighth place. Sophie Mock led the Greyhounds with 79, good for 11th place individually. Maddie Headlee scored 81 for 13th place; both she and Mock made one birdie each.
Hamilton Southeastern totaled 356 for ninth place. Janelle Garcia led the Royals with 83, placing her 17th. She made one birdie, as did Sophie Roberts (who scored 88) and Laci Hart (who totaled 91).
Guerin Catholic scored 393 as a team. Ali Scott led the Golden Eagles with 87.
Noblesville’s Josie Kelley placed 10th with a score of 78 on the third-place Millers team. (Julie Brown)
Team scores: Westfield 319, Zionsville 320, Noblesville 326, Floyd Central 343, Northridge 349, Franklin Community 350, Fort Wayne Carroll 350, Carmel 352, Hamilton Southeastern 356, Center Grove 361, Penn 363, Homestead 368, New Palestine 376, Bedford North Lawrence 377, Castle 380, Chesterton 389, Guerin Catholic 393, Jasper 419.
Medalist: Addi Kooi (Westfield) 34-35=69.
Other Westfield scores: Kelsey Haverluck 37-38=75, Sophie Raines 41-43=84, Sadie Edwards 42-49=91, Anna McKeown 42-49=91.
Noblesville scores: Josie Kelley 42-36=78, Olivia Fowler 43-39=82, Karis Shields 41-41=82, Presley White 42-42=84, Olivia Anderson 48-46=94.
Carmel scores: Sophie Mock 41-38=79, Maddie Headlee 43-38=81, Reese Roudebush 43-45=88, Allie Thompson 52-52=104, Georgia Murnan 57-53=110.
Southeastern scores: Janelle Garcia 42-41=83, Sophie Roberts 41-47=88, Laci Hart 51-40=91, Brooke Willard 48-46=94, Paige O’Hara 51-44=95.
Guerin Catholic scores: Ali Scott 45-42=87, Sydney Delagrange 46-46=92, Sarah Rigg 51-56=107, Avery Wall 55-52=107, Gracie Navarro 59-55=114.
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