By RICHIE HALL
Playing steady led to state for three Hamilton County girls golf teams on Saturday.
The Carmel and Westfield teams finished second and third respectively at the Roncalli regional, which took place at Smock Golf Course in Indianapolis, thus earning a spot at next weekend’s state meet at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. In addition, the Pfefferkorn sisters will represent Guerin Catholic by qualifying for state as individuals.
Meanwhile, Noblesville placed second at the Lapel regional, which took place at Edgewood Golf and Country Club in Anderson. The Millers will be returning to state for the first time in six years.
The Greyhounds have consistency down to a science, and that produced another solid round at Smock. Carmel scored a 313, second only to regional champion Zionsville’s 299. But getting to state is the ultimate goal, and the ‘Hounds will go there for the 28th time in program history.
Katie Kuc and Sydney Longstreth both had 77s for Carmel, with Kuc making three birdies in her round and Longstreth draining one birdie. Ava Hedrick’s 78 and Elizabeth Hedricks’ 81 each contained two birdies.
“I think the girls played great,” said Greyhounds coach Kelly Kluesner. “We definitely had some improvements over the invitational here earlier this year. They made some really good decisions out on the course today.”
Westfield placed third by scoring a 316, earning the school’s fifth trip to the state meet. Jocelyn Bruch led the way for the Shamrocks, placing fourth individually with a 73, making four birdies in her round. Brette Hanavan’s 83 included a birdie on the 18th hole.
“Post-season’s always survive and advance,” said Westfield coach Trevor Neu. “We would’ve liked to shoot a little bit better number today, but the kids battled and hung in there. We put up a good team score and I think maybe our best score this year at Smock. So that’s something that we can be proud of. But we’re just excited to move on and have an opportunity to maybe do something special at Prairie View.”
Guerin Catholic finished seventh as a team, but will send the Pfefferkorn sisters on to state. Christina Pfefferkorn had a sensational day, tying for second individually with an even-par 72. The only score better was Zionsville’s Annabelle Pancake, who stunned everyone with an eight-under par 64 for medalist honors.
Angelica Pfefferkorn carded a 76 to also make it to state. Both Christina and Angelica had three birdies in their respective rounds.
“I think I played really well,” said Christina Pfefferkorn. This will be her second year at state, after competing last year with the Golden Eagles team.
“I think I’m going to shoot better this year at state,” said Christina Pfefferkorn. “I feel more ready and confident in myself.”
“I think I played well today,” said Angelica. She said she “started to lose it in the middle” of her round, but that “really made me focus and figure out a way to grind out on the last couple holes, and I was able to do that.”
University had two golfers compete at the regional. Becky Williams scored an 84, including one birdie, while Kelsey DuBois carded a 93.
RETURNING TO STATE
Noblesville hadn’t qualified for the state meet since 2013, so the Millers ended a six-year drought with their performance at Edgewood.
The Millers scored 324, behind only winner Columbus North’s 313. Host Lapel finished third with a 325, earning its first-ever trip to state. Noblesville qualified for state for the 26th time in school history.
Noblesville had a consistent day, with Caroline Whallon’s 78 leading the way. Sarah Brunnemer scored a 79, and the other three Millers scored in the low to mid 80’s.
“We played great,” said Millers coach Justin Werkley, who is taking a team to state as a coach for the first time. “It was our best team score of the year. The girls really, really played hard and it came down to just a couple shots and we feel fortunate and really, really excited to have played well and advanced.”
Hamilton Southeastern finished fifth with a team score of 336. Ashley Marcinko led the Royals with a 78.
AT SMOCK GOLF COURSE
Team scores: Zionsville 299, Carmel 313, Westfield 316, Franklin Community 328, Center Grove 331, Brownsburg 341, Guerin Catholic 343, Plainfield 350, Lebanon 358, Southmont 358, Perry Meridian 366, Northview 384, Terre Haute North 392, Terre Haute South 393, Madison 404, Southwestern 415, Scottsburg 429, North Putnam 433.
Medalist: Annabelle Pancake (Z) 32-32=64.
Carmel scores: Katie Kuc 38-39=77, Sydney Longstreth 37-40=77, Ava Hedrick 39-39=78, Elizabeth Hedrick 40-41=81, Ava Nguyen 43-39=82.
Westfield scores: Jocelyn Bruch 37-36=73, Natalie Shupe 39-41=80, Allie Hildebrand 39-41=80, Sophie McGinnis 42-41=83, Brette Hanavan 43-40=83.
Guerin Catholic scores: Christina Pfefferkorn 33-39=72, Angelica Pfefferkorn 38-38=76, Jenna Rust 50-56=96, Audrey Kunce 50-49=99, Jenny Zerla 54-47=101.
University scores: Becky Williams 41-43=84, Kelsey DuBois 49-44=93.
AT EDGEWOOD
Team scores: Columbus North 313, Noblesville 324, Lapel 325, Heritage Christian 326, Hamilton Southeastern 336, Greensburg 342, Richmond 344, Greenfield-Central 348, New Palestine 362, North Central 367, Cathedral 368, Franklin County 372, Pendleton Heights 374, Winchester 375, Hagerstown 381, Columbus East 393, Muncie Central 414, Daleville 417.
Medalist: Yanah Rolston (Heritage Christian) 33-35=68.
Noblesville scores: Caroline Whallon 39-39=78, Sarah Brenneman 41-38=79, Taylor Caldwell 46-37=83, Ellie Karst 43-41=84, Bella Deibel 44-41=85.
Southeastern scores: Ashley Marcinko 41-37=78, Amber Luttrell 45-40=85, Lauren Stewart 42-44=86, Payton Schechter 43-44=87, Maggie Watson 43-45=88.
Fishers scores: Lilly McVay 45-41=86, Kaitlyn Brunnemer 46-41=87.
Hamilton Heights score: Sydni Zebrauskas 41-42=83.
The Noblesville girls golf team is going back to state for the first time in six years. The Millers scored 324 at the Lapel regional on Saturday, good for second place and a trip to next weekend’s state meet at Prairie View Golf Club; their 26th trip to state. (Richie Hall)
The Carmel girls golf team finished second at the Roncalli regional at Smock Golf Course on Saturday, earning a trip to the state finals. This will be the Greyhounds’ 28th appearance at the state meet. (Richie Hall)