By RICHIE HALL
Had the weather cooperated, Wednesday’s Zionsville Invitational would have been the third tournament for the Carmel, Guerin Catholic and Westfield girls golf teams.
Instead, it wound up being the first tournament in the books. And it was a great tournament for all three teams, especially so for the fourth-ranked Greyhounds. Carmel won the invitational, edging out the host Eagles (who are the defending state champions and top-ranked team) by two shots at the Golf Club of Indiana.
The ‘Hounds carded 309 to Zionsville’s 311. The Golden Eagles continued their solid start to the season with a third-place 327, while the Shamrocks finished fifth and had the individual runner-up.
Carmel had a consistent day, landing three players in the 70s. Sophomore Katie Kuc led the way, placing third individually with a score of 73. Senior Nina Hecht added a 76, and freshman Ava Hedrick made a nice debut to high school golf with a 79.
“The girls have had great summer tournaments,” said Greyhounds coach Kelly Kluesner. “Our turnouts and qualifiers have been great, so to see them put it all together on a longer course than what they’re used to is great. They just stayed away from big numbers, obviously.”
The 11th-ranked Golden Eagles had already gotten a tournament in, placing second to Zionsville at the rain-besotted Lafayette Jefferson Invitational on Tuesday.
“We’re playing pretty well,” said GC coach Mark Mathews. “My two, three, four spots are disappointed with their day. Playing well yesterday, they expected more today. It was a very hard golf course, a lot longer than yesterday. Today they played about the longest course they’ll play all year.
Guerin was led by junior Angelica Pfefferkorn, who tied for fourth with a 74. Senior Mckayla Tallman carded an 81.
“Angelica Pfefferkorn played extremely well,” said Mathews. “She bogeyed her first hole and shot 74, so she’s really happy with that round.”
Columbus North finished fourth with a 329. The Bull Dogs had the meet medalist in Natalie Munnicha, who shot an impressive three-under 69.
Fifth-ranked Westfield placed fifth with 339. Sophomore Jocelyn Bruch had the best individual finish of a Hamilton County golfer with her even-par 72, giving her a runner-up finish.
“We have a young group of kids and basically a whole new group of kids that are playing, so we’re still going to find our way,” said Shamrocks coach Trevor Neu. “I think we’re going to shoot anywhere from 315 to 340 this year at times, depending on how tough the course can play for us. And it was set up pretty tough today.”
Hamilton Southeastern carded a 351. Senior Chelsea Morrow led the Royals with a 76. Fishers shot 423; Kaitlyn Brunnemer scored a 90 to lead the Tigers.
Carmel, Guerin Catholic and Westfield will be back in action today at the Crooked Stick Invitational.
TEAM SCORES: Carmel 309, Zionsville Green 311, Guerin Catholic 327, Columbus North 329, Westfield 339, Martinsville 349, Lafayette Jefferson 350, Hamilton Southeastern 351, Brownsburg 363, Zionsville White 409, Fishers 423, Cathedral 423.
Medalist: Natalie Munnicha (CN) 69.
Carmel scores: Katie Kuc 73, Nina Hecht 76, Ava Hedrick 79, Sydney Longstreth 81, Elizabeth Hedrick 84.
Guerin Catholic scores: Angelica Pfefferkorn 74, Mckayla Tallman 81, Christina Pfefferkorn 86, Sophie McGinnis 86, Jenna Rust 106.
Westfield scores: Jocelyn Bruch 72, Natalie Shupe 87, Grace Snyder 89, Cate Jensen 91, Brette Hanavan 108.
Southeastern scores: Chelsea Morrow 76, Julia Eaton 83, Mara Wilson 88, Maggie Watson 104, Payton Schechter 112.
Fishers scores: Kaitlyn Brunnemer 90, Caitlyn Kim 92, Haley Gausepohl 111, Katelyn Tai 130, Lilly McVay 132.
The Carmel girls golf team won the Zionsville Invitational Wednesday at the Golf Club of Indiana. The No. 4-ranked Greyhounds upset the No. 1 and defending state champion Eagles by two shots, 309-311. (Richie Hall)