By RICHIE HALL
Once the IHSAA girls golf season begins, the elite teams don’t waste any time showing who they are.
That happened early during this busy opening week. Third-ranked Carmel and No. 4 Westfield each had success in their first two events, the Bloomington South Invitational on Monday at Bloomington Country Club, and the Hamilton Southeastern Invitational Tuesday at Stony Creek Golf Club in Noblesville.
At Bloomington, the Greyhounds finished with a 287, one stroke behind second-ranked Evansville North, the team champion with a 286. The Shamrocks were a close third with a 292. Carmel’s Katie Kuc shared medalist honors with North’s Faith Johnson, with both carding 68s. Freshman Michaela Headlee added a 70 for the ‘Hounds. Meanwhile, Sophie McGinnis and Sam Brown both had 71s to lead Westfield.
On Tuesday, both Carmel and Westfield were on top at Stony Creek. The Greyhounds’ Blue team won the invitational with a 289, while the Shamrocks’ Green team scored a 291 for runner-up honors.
Headlee led the Carmel scoring with a 70. She and another freshman, Claire Swathwood, are expected to make big contributions to the team this season.
“We have been consistent through our first two tournaments,” said Carmel coach Kelly Kluesner. “We’ve got two good additions in Claire and Michaela playing for us.”
The Greyhounds will play in two more tournaments this week, the Crooked Stick Invitational on Thursday and the State Preview Saturday at Prairie View.
“We have four tournaments in our first week, but it gets the season going,” said Kluesner.
Westfield’s McGinnis improved four shots from her Bloomington South score to card a 67, good for medalist honors.
“I think I’m playing really solid,” said McGinnis. “I’m hitting the ball really well. I’m happy where my game is and just keep practicing and hopefully it can get better from here.”
Southeastern’s Blue team finished third with a 299. The Royals, tied for 10th in the first poll of the season, were led by Amber Luttrell’s 72.
Fishers and Hamilton Heights competed at the HSE Invitational as well. Sydni Zebrauskas led the Huskies with a score of 73, while Kristi Lilek was in front for the Tigers with an 83.
GOLDEN EAGLES START STRONG
Guerin Catholic had a nice start to its season, with a victory on Monday and a close runner-up finish on Tuesday.
The Golden Eagles won the four-team Cathedral Irish Invitational on Monday at Maple Creek Golf Club, scoring 378. Christina Pfefferkorn was the meet medalist, shooting 78.
Heights placed second at Maple Creek with a 418. Zebrauskas scored an 88 for the Huskies.
On Tuesday, Guerin Catholic traveled to Battle Ground Golf Course for the Lafayette Jefferson Booster Invitational. The Golden Eagles scored 352 to place second, one shot behind Lebanon’s 351.
Pfefferkorn was again the medalist, with a score of 73. Other scores were Audrey Kunce 88, Jenny Zerla 90, Isabella Pinion 101 and Anna Jacoby 115.
Guerin Catholic will play at the Zionsville Invitational today at Golf Club of Indiana.
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH INVITATIONAL
At Bloomington Country Club
Team scores: Evansville North 286, Carmel 287, Westfield 292, Columbus North 311, Franklin Community 315, Floyd Central 330, Castle 333, Bedford North Lawrence 334, Jasper 376, Vincennes Rivet 389, Columbus East 392, Bloomington South 398, Gibson Southern 398, Bloomington North 411, Madison 412, Evansville Memorial 416, Terre Haute North 432, Seymour 444, Evansville Central 556.
Co-medalists: Katie Kuc (C) 68; Faith Johnson (EN) 68.
Other Carmel scores: Michaela Headlee 70, Sydney Longstreth 74, Ava Hedrick 75, Claire Swathwood 76.
Westfield scores: Sophie McGinnis 71, Sam Brown 71, Allie Hildebrand 74, Brette Hanavan 76, Cate Jensen 81.
CATHEDRAL INVITE
At Maple Creek
Team scores: Guerin Catholic 378, Hamilton Heights 418, Cathedral 425, Bishop Chatard 464.
Medalist: Christina Pfefferkorn (GC) 40-38=78.
Other Guerin Catholic scores: Audrey Kunce 52-46=98, Isabella Pinion 46-53=99, Jenny Zerla 52-51=103, Anna Jacoby 60-59=119.
Heights scores: Sydni Zebrauskas 45-43=88, Rebekah Steffen 50-50=100, Kaylee Rhoton 52-57=109, Lola Wilson 61-60=121, Ashlyn Fletcher 61-64=125.
Carmel JV scores: Kamryn Williams 40-45=85, Maya Berglund 41-46=87, Ava Nguyen 46-43=89, Sophie Cassidy 40-49=89, Averie Reiter 46-44=90, Sarah Fernando 50-51=101, Caroline Enzor 51-51=102.
HSE INVITATIONAL
At Stony Creek Golf Club
Team scores: Carmel Blue 289, Westfield Green 291, Hamilton Southeastern Blue 299, Southeastern White 312, Carmel Gold 325, Southeastern Gray 337, Westfield White 340, Lapel 340, Fishers Red 365, Brebeuf Jesuit 394, Hamilton Heights 410, Fishers Gray 442.
Medalist: Sophie McGinnis (W-Green) 33-34=67.
Carmel Blue scores: Michaela Headlee 35-35=70, Sydney Longstreth 36-36=72, Ava Hedrick 37-36=73, Katie Kuc 37-37=74, Claire Swathwood 38-37=75.
Other Westfield Green scores: Sam Brown 37-36=73, Brette Hanavan 35-38=73, Cate Jensen 39-39=78, Allie Hildebrand 42-37=79.
Southeastern Blue scores: Amber Luttrell 37-35=72, Yanah Rolston 37-36=73, Lauren Stewart 36-40=76, Cora Zink 39-39=78, Ashley Marcinko 40-41=81.
Southeastern White scores: Grace Dubec 37-36=73, Marissa Spreitzer 37-36=73, Ella Bui 43-30=83, Abby Strawmyer 44-39=83, Gabby Willard 44-42=86.
Carmel Gold scores: Maya Berglund 39-39=78, Sophie Cassidy 42-39=81, Averie Reiter 41-41=82, Ava Nguyen 45-39=84, Kamryn Williams 45-45=90.
Southeastern Gray scores: Katy Pippenger 38-41=79, Reese Hissong 43-40=83, Kaley McHaffie 40-44=84, Makenna Watson 46-45=91, Annabelle Willard 46-46=92.
Fishers Red scores: Kristi Lilek 44-39=83, Lilly McVay 41-44=85, Megan Lapp 48-45=93, Sarah Majeski 50-54=104, Celia Miles 56-56=112.
Heights scores: Sydni Zebrauskas 36-37=73, Kaylee Rhoton 49-53=102, Anna Rickey 59-54=113, Jade Voltz 63-59=122, Carley Koors 63-61=124.
Fishers Gray scores: Hayleigh Hemminger 52-52=104, Sydney Meyer 55-56=111, Marissa Moore 58-53=111, Kate Jansen 59-57=116, Nadia Lushinsky 58-62=120.
Pre-season girls golf poll
1. Homestead, 2. Evansville North, 3. Carmel, 4. Westfield, 5. Columbus North, 6. Noblesville, 7. Crown Point, 8. Franklin Community, 9. NorthWood, T10. Hamilton Southeastern; Zionsville, 12. Penn, 13. Center Grove, 14. Lapel, 15. Brownsburg, 16. Concord, 17. Culver Academies, 18. Lake Central, 19. Evansville Memorial, 20. Western.
Honorable Mention: Castle, Cathedral, Columbia City, Floyd Central, Guerin Catholic, Harrison, Michigan City, Richmond, Tipton, University, Valparaiso, Wawasee.