By RICHIE HALL
Saturday’s Roncalli girls golf regional at Smock Golf Club was a victory for an established team and a triumph for a young team.
Carmel won the regional championship, its first since 2014. The Greyhounds held off rival Zionsville by four shots, 314-318. Both teams will see each other again, of course, at next weekend’s state meet at Prairie View Golf Course.
The top three teams advance from regional to state, and the third place team this year at Smock is Guerin Catholic. For the first time ever, the Golden Eagles will go to state as a team.
Two individuals also made it to state: Westfield’s Jocelyn Bruch was the individual regional medalist, while University made some history of its own, as Becky Williams became the first-ever Trailblazer player to qualify for state.
Carmel and Zionsville had the two best sectional scores coming into the regional, so it was obvious they would be the teams to beat. In the end, the Greyhounds held on to claim their 12th regional championship, which puts them in a tie for third overall with Lafayette Jefferson.
Nina Hecht led Carmel with a 74, while Katie Kuc scored a 76.
“It feels great,” said Greyhounds coach Kelly Kluesner. “We’re just really riding the momentum that we had from sectionals and we’ll hopefully continue through state finals.”
Ava Hedrick and Elizabeth Hedrick both had 82s for Carmel.
This will be the 27th appearance at the state meet for the Greyhounds, which puts them second overall. Lafayette Jeff leads the list with 31; the Bronchos placed second at their own regional on Saturday, qualifying them yet again for state.
Contrast that with Guerin Catholic. The Golden Eagles have sent individual players to state before – Carlie Gehlhausen, Lucy Stevens, Sarah Baxter, Marissa Singer and Angelica Pfefferkorn. But this marks the first time Guerin will have its entire team at state.
The Golden Eagles carded a team total of 327, with Sophie McGinnis shooting a 76 and Christina Pfefferkorn carding a 79. Guerin Catholic had to sweat a little bit, as Franklin Community and Center Grove each delivered strong scores, but they finished respectively with 328 and 329.
“We feel great,” said Golden Eagles coach Mark Mathews. “The girls were disappointed when they finished. They thought they’d not accomplished the task. I don’t think they realized what a tough day it was and how everybody struggled today, so I’m very happy for them. Just excited.”
Westfield placed sixth as a team with a 331, ending its four-year run of qualifying as a team. But the Shamrocks will have a representative at state: Jocelyn Bruch’s 73 was good enough for meet medalist.
“I played pretty consistent, so I just tried to stay focused all day,” said Bruch. “It was a pretty solid day overall.”
Since Bruch will be playing as an individual, she said she plans to treat the state meet like it was an individual summer tournament and just try to play it the best she can.
“Since I’m still representing my school, it’ll be a lot of fun as well,” said Bruch.
Becky Williams will also be representing her school, and the occasion should be just as fun for University. Williams scored a 77 to earn one of the five individual qualifying spots reserved for those not on an advancing team.
“It’s really exciting,” said Williams. The Trailblazers have had a string of success in athletics over the past year, and Williams is now adding to that list.
“I’m very proud to represent them,” said Williams. “I love the school and I think it really just speaks to the growing amount of athletic success that we’ve had recently.”
ROYALS ADVANCE FROM EDGEWOOD
Over at the Lapel regional, Hamilton Southeastern placed third. The Royals shot a 337 at Edgewood Golf and Country Club, and will be competing in the state meet for the 15th time.
It was a very close meet between the top three teams. Columbus North won the regional championship with a 333, followed by Richmond’s 336 and HSE’s 337. But the Royals’ qualifying spot was not in doubt, as they finished a comfortable 16 shots ahead of fourth place.
“It’s nice,” said Southeastern coach Steve Guenin. The coach said his team got off to a rough start, but got things together and had a solid back nine.
“It was exciting for them,” said Guenin. “We always talk about never giving up, but they didn’t. They kept grinding it out and it turned out okay.”
Chelsea Morrow led the Royals with a 72, making her the individual runner-up. Julia Eaton scored a 78.
Noblesville finished in sixth place as a team with a 358. Bella Deibel led the Millers with an 85.
Fishers had two individuals play at the meet. Kaitlyn Brunnemer shot an 82 and Caitlyn Kim scored 93.
AT SMOCK
Team scores: Carmel 314, Zionsville 318, Guerin Catholic 327, Franklin Community 328, Center Grove 329, Westfield 331, Brownsburg 351, Lebanon 376, Terre Haute South 379, Whiteland 385, Plainfield 387, Jennings County 388, Southmont 392, Terre Haute North 392, Madison 418, Western Boone 419, Southwestern Shelby 421, Northview 426.
Medalist: Jocelyn Bruch (Westfield) 37-36=73.
Carmel scores: Nina Hecht 39-35=74, Katie Kuc 37-39=76, Ava Hedrick 41-41=82, Elizabeth Hedrick 40-42=82, Ella Woods 45-41=86.
Guerin Catholic scores: Sophie McGinnis 37-39=76, Christina Pfefferkorn 39-40=79, Angelica Pfefferkorn 44-42=86, Mckayla Tallman 43-43=86, Jenna Rust 49-60=109.
Other Westfield scores: Natalie Shupe 38-44=82, Brette Hanavan 44-43=87, Cate Jensen 46-43=89, Grace Snyder 44-47=91.
University score: Becky Williams 39-38=77.
AT EDGEWOOD
Team scores: Columbus North 333, Richmond 336, Hamilton Southeastern 337, Greensburg 353, Lapel 354, Noblesville 358, Heritage Christian 359, Muncie Central 359, New Palestine 363, Bishop Chatard 370, Franklin County 373, Cathedral 375, Greenfield-Central 377, Greenwood 378, Daleville 380, Delta 389, Union County 394, Columbus East 395.
Medalist: Maggie Schaffer (Bishop Chatard) 35-36=71.
Southeastern scores: Chelsea Morrow 37-35=72, Julia Eaton 41-37=78, Maggie Watson 50-43=93, Ashley Marcinko 53-41=94, Mara Wilson 45-51=96.
Noblesville scores: Bella Deibel 41-44=85, Taylor Caldwell 48-41=89, Sarah Brenneman 49-43=92, Ellie Karst 51-41=92, Mia Sommervold 51-44=95.
Fishers scores: Kaitlyn Brunnemer 43-39=82, Caitlyn Kim 45-48=93.
The Carmel girls golf team won the Roncalli regional championship Saturday at Smock Golf Club. The Greyhounds also qualified for the state meet at Prairie View Golf Club; it will be their 27th appearance at state. (Richie Hall)
Westfield’s Jocelyn Bruch was the individual medalist at the Roncalli regional, shooting a score of 73. Bruch will represent the Shamrocks at state as one of the five individuals not on an advancing team. (Richie Hall)