Even a little rain couldn’t stop the Westfield girls golf team from another sectional championship.
The Shamrocks triumphed at the Guerin Catholic sectional, which took place Monday at Pebble Brook Golf Club. Westfield won its sixth title in eight years by carding a 295, leading a Hamilton County sweep of the top four positions.
Carmel placed second with a solid score of 305, while University placed third with a 328. The top three teams advance to the Roncalli regional, which takes place Friday at Smock Golf Club in Indianapolis. Guerin Catholic finished fourth, but will have two players advance to Smock as individuals.
In addition to the team trophy, the ‘Rocks also claimed the meet medalist. Samantha Brown earned that honor with a score of 71. Brown had two birdies in her round.
“I was hitting it well,” said Brown. “I think that my putting was off. I didn’t really get many putts to drop, but I was able to manage my way around that and I was hitting it close, just two-putting most of the day.”
Sophie McGinnis tied for second individually with a score of 72, with one birdie. Westfield had four players score in the 70s, with Addi Kooi carding a 75 and Brette Hanavan finishing with a 77. Kooi made two birdies and Hanavan had one.
“We played really consistent today,” said Shamrocks coach Trevor Neu. “One of the things we talked about as a team on Friday was limiting our mistakes out there. As a team, I think we had maybe three holes where we had a double (bogey) or higher, so we really did a good job of managing that and just staying consistent throughout both nine holes.”
Carmel was led by senior Ava Hedrick, who placed fourth individually with a score of 73. Hedrick made two birdies in her round. Michaela Headlee scored 75 and Claire Swathwood had a 76; both drained one birdie.
“I think we played well,” said Greyhounds coach Kelly Kluesner. “We dealt with some rain, we dealt with a lot of wind. The girls stayed focused. Our goal always at the sectional is just to survive and advance. We accomplished that goal.”
University also has a senior leader helping the Trailblazers to a second consecutive trip to the regional. Becky Williams tied with McGinnis for second place by carding a 72; Williams made three birdies during her round. Sydni Zebrauskas placed fifth individually by scoring a 74.
“We were able to pull it off,” said University coach Taylor Newell. The coach said his team “did a really good job with the wind conditions,” as that posed a challenge.
“They were really dialed in and I think we’re really just trying to have fun on the golf course, which is what we always try to do. They pulled it off, so I’m very proud.”
Guerin Catholic scored 343 as a team. Christina Pfefferkorn earned a ticket to the regional with her round of 76, and will be joined by Jenny Zerla, as her 84 also placed her among the top three individuals not on an advancing team. Isabella Pinon and Grace Cates both had one birdie in their respective rounds.
Over at Harbour Trees, Hamilton Southeastern ran away with the Noblesville sectional championship.
The Royals claimed the program’s 12th sectional title with an outstanding score of 299. It was the first time this season that Southeastern broke 300, and the Royals picked the best time to do that.
“It was pretty consistent today,” said HSE coach Steve Guenin. “It started out kind of nasty, just blowing around a little bit, raining a little bit. But it turned out okay in the end, for sure. The course was in great shape. They did a really nice job of getting this thing set up for us, and so it was exciting to get our here and put together a nice round.”
Marissa Spreitzer was the meet medalist with a score of three under par 68, by far a personal best. She made four birdies in her round.
“I played pretty good,” said Spreitzer. “I’m really proud of everything that I’ve done and how I’ve worked really hard to get something as amazing as this, especially senior year.”
Southeastern had three players finish in the top five. Yanah Ralston’s score of 73 eraned her third place, while Lauren Stewart carded a 75, placing her fifth. Ralston also made four birdies, while Stewart had one. Ella Bui had two birdies and Cora Zink made one.
The Royals qualified for the Lapel regional, which is set for Saturday at Edgewood Golf Club in Anderson. Southeastern will be joined by host Noblesville, which placed second with a 333, and Lapel, which took third with a 360.
Caroline Whallon led the way for the Millers, carding a 72 to finish as individual runner-up. Whallon made four birdies in her round, including the 18th hole. Jordan Adam and Sophi Stutz each had one birdie as well.
“Caroline played great,” said Noblesville coach Justin Werkley. “She’s been solid all year, so no surprise there. The rest of the team didn’t play their best, but they hung in there. It was a tough day. The weather was challenging. The goal is always to move on, so we’ll see what we can do in regionals.”
Fishers placed fourth as a team with a 367, while Hamilton Heights took sixth with a 396. Both schools did qualify one golfer on to the regional.
Lilly McVay advanced for the Tigers with a score of 78, finishing with a birdie on the 18th hole. The Huskies’ Ashlyn Tharp also qualified by carding an 89. Fishers’ Megan Lapp and Heights’ Anna Rickey both had one birdie in their respective rounds.
AT PEBBLE BROOK
Team scores: Westfield 295, Carmel 305, University 328, Guerin Catholic 343, Brebeuf Jesuit 352, Speedway 384, Covenant Christian 426, Pike 447, Ben Davis 452, Cardinal Ritter 452.
Medalist: Samantha Brown (Westfield) 37-34=71.
Other Westfield scores: Sophie McGinnis 36-36=72, Addi Kooi 36-39=75, Brette Hanavan 37-40=77, Allie Hildebrand 44-38=82.
Carmel scores: Ava Hedrick 35-38=73, Michaela Headlee 37-38=75, Claire Swathwood 37-39=76, Sophie Mock 42-39=81, Ava Nguyen 43-41=84.
University scores: Becky Williams 36-36=72, Sydni Zebrauskas 38-36=74, Kelsey DuBois 47-41=88, Ria Narayanan 47-47=94, Abby Bladen 48-49=97.
Guerin Catholic scores: Christina Pfefferkorn 40-36=76, Jenny Zerla 47-37=84, Audrey Kunce 48-43=91, Isabella Pinon 47-45=92, Grace Cates 51-42=93.
AT HARBOUR TREES
Team scores: Hamilton Southeastern 299, Noblesville 333, Lapel 360, Fishers 367, Pendleton Heights 385, Hamilton Heights 396, Shenandoah 439, Frankton 447, Alexandria 457, Elwood 490.
Medalist: Marissa Spreitzer (HSE) 33-35=68.
Other Southeastern scores: Yanah Rolston 37-36=73, Lauren Stewart 39-36=75, Cora Zink 38-45=83, Ella Bui 42-42=84.
Noblesville scores: Caroline Whallon 35-37=72, Jordan Adam 39-46=85, Sophi Stutz 45-41=86, Erin Burt 45-45=90, Olivia Anderson 44-47=91.
Fishers scores: Lilly McVay 40-38=78, Sarah Majeski 46-48=94, Kristi Lilek 48-47=95, Megan Lapp 53-47=100, Olivia Holding 53-51=104.
Heights scores: Ashlyn Tharp 45-44=89, Anna Rickey 47-49=96, Kaylee Rhoton 51-47=98, Lola Wilson 51-52=103, Ashlyn Fletcher 57-54=111.