By RICHIE HALL
The first week of the girls golf season wrapped up Saturday with the State Preview Meet at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.
The tournament name says it all: The teams playing are those that are expected to be in the running for a place in the state finals, which Prairie View Chief Operating Officer Doc O’Neal pointed out is in seven weeks – yes, the season goes by that fast. Many of the traditional powerhouses played in the State Preview, but there’s always room for new teams and players to make their mark.
Both the traditional and the new from Hamilton County were well-represented. Carmel, the obvious example of a traditional powerhouse, finished third as a team, which was the highest place among the four county teams that participated. Meanwhile, Westfield’s Natalie Shupe was the highest-finishing individual from the county, representing a new face.
Shupe may not be totally “new” to the golf world – she is a junior and played some varsity rounds for the Shamrocks last year. But after Westfield graduated a strong senior class from last year, the younger players have been waiting in the wings to show what they could do.
And Shupe showed quite a bit, finishing in third place with a 75. That score is a personal best for Shupe, lowering her previous best by one shot.
“I felt really strong playing today,” said Shupe. “I was just hitting all my irons really good and my driver was in the fairway, so that helps.”
“I think it’ll give us the push we need to keep on getting better throughout the season,” said Shupe.
Zionsville, the defending state champion, won the tournament with a score of 308, while Evansville North scored 313 to take second. Both teams are also ranked first and second respectively in the pre-season coaches poll (a new poll will likely come out today). Fourth-ranked Carmel took third in the team standings with a 314.
Sophomore Sydney Longstreth led the way with a score of 76. Sophomore Katie Kuc and senior Nina Hecht both carded 79s.
“Overall I think they played really well,” said ‘Hounds coach Kelly Kluesner. “We had a couple missed opportunities, but to finish third behind two very strong teams, it was a great day for us.”
Guerin Catholic finished fifth in the 18-team event by shooting a 336. Junior Angelica Pfefferkorn was the low woman for the Golden Eagles with a 79.
Westfield was sixth as a team by carding a 340; junior Jocelyn Bruch followed Shupe with a 77. Hamilton Southeastern placed 10th with a 356; senior Chelsea Morrow led the Royals with a 78.
Culver Academies’ Reese Wilson was the overall medalist with an exceptional round of two-under par 70, making six birdies for the tournament. Zionsville’s Annabelle Pancake was the individual runner-up with a 73.
Team scores: Zionsville 308, Evansville North 313, Carmel 314, Homestead 322, Guerin Catholic 336, Westfield 340, Columbus North 341, Culver Academies 342, Brownsburg 351, Hamilton Southeastern 356, Bedford North Lawrence 358, Lafayette Jefferson 363, Martinsville 364, DeKalb 367, NorthWood 372, Evansville Memorial 374, Valparaiso 379, Angola 413.
Medalist: Reese Wilson (Culver) 70.
Carmel scores: Sydney Longstreth 76, Katie Kuc 79, Nina Hecht 79, Elizabeth Hedrick 80, Ava Hedrick 83.
Guerin Catholic scores: Angelica Pfefferkorn 79, Sophie McGinnis 84, Christina Pfefferkorn 84, Mckayla Tallman 89, Jenna Rust 127.
Westfield scores: Natalie Shupe 75, Jocelyn Bruch 77, Megan Barker 93, Cate Jensen 95, Grace Snyder 99.
Southeastern scores: Chelsea Morrow 78, Julia Eaton 87, Maggie Watson 93, Mara Wilson 98, Ashley Marcinko 102.
MILLERS PLACE FIFTH AT KOKOMO INVITE
Noblesville finished fifth at the Kokomo Invitational, which took place Saturday at Chippendale Golf Club.
The Millers scored 369 as a team. Tipton won the event with a 343, Kokomo was second with 358, and Penn and Lapel tied for third with 363s.
Sarah Brenneman scored 89 for Noblesville, which tied her for seventh individually. Taylor Caldwell tied for ninth with a score of 90. Bella Deibel carded 93, Mia Sommervold 97 and Ellie Karst 99.
Westfield junior Natalie Shupe finished third individually at the State Preview Meet Saturday at Prairie View Golf Club. Shupe’s score of 75 is a new personal best. (Richie Hall)