By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – The theme for Monday’s Noblesville girls golf sectionals at Harbour Trees would be “repeat performance.”
The top three teams at this year’s edition of the sectional finished in the exact same positions as they did at last year’s sectional. Hamilton Southeastern was the team champion, winning for the third year in a row. The host Millers were second and Lapel was third. All three schools now advance to the Lapel regional, which takes place Saturday at Edgewood Golf Club.
In addition, two individual golfers that advanced to the regional last year did it again this year. Hamilton Heights’ Sydni Zebrauskas and Fishers’ Lilly McVay qualified first and second as the top three individuals from a non-advancing team.
The Royals had a consistent day on their way to a team score of 325, securing the school’s 12th overall sectional title. Amber Luttrell led the way with a 79, which tied her for second place individually, making one birdie. Lapel’s Macy Beeson was the medalist, running away from the field with a two-under par 69.
“We did play pretty consistent,” said Southeastern coach Steve Guenin. “Some of us played a little bit better on the back side, some of us played a little bit better on the front side.”
Marissa Spreitzer tied for fourth place with an 81. Yanah Rolston had three birdies in her score of 82, while Ashley Marcinko made one birdie during her round of 83. Grace Dubec made three birdies on her way to an 86.
“It feels really good,” said Spreitzer. “I thought it was going to be close this year, and it was. But we have a lot of good girls on the team and we’ve been playing good all year, and I think it’s just a good chance for us to come out here and get it again.”
“We did a lot of really good things out there, but there’s definitely some things we need to work on,” said Guenin.
Sarah Brenneman led the Millers with a 79, making her part of the second-place tie. Brenneman’s score included two birdies. Caroline Whallon carded an 82 and had one birdie. Jordan Adam made one birdie on her way to an 85. Ellie Karst and Taylor Caldwell both had 86s, and both had one birdie.
“The goal, obviously, is to advance to regional,” said Noblesville coach Justin Werkley. “We’re excited to play on Saturday and we’ll hopefully be able to keep moving on.”
Zebrauskas, a sophomore, scored an 81 in her second go at the sectional. She improved her score 11 shots from last year.
“I was really excited,” said Zebrauskas. “I was hoping I could get it. The front nine was a little rough, but the back nine, I picked myself up and finished strong.”
McVay also had a big improvement from last season. She scored an 82 on Monday, 13 shots better than her previous sectional. McVay had one birdie during her round. Kristi Lilek also made one birdie.
“My whole goal was just to do well on the back, because the back is where I have trouble,” said McVay. “So when I knew I would do well on the back nine, I was like, ‘All right, we got this.’ And I was just coasting through and it feels really good to go.”
Team scores: Hamilton Southeastern 325, Noblesville 332, Lapel 354, Hamilton Heights 376, Fishers 382, Pendleton Heights 404, Frankton 441, Alexandria 443, Shenandoah 452, Elwood 471.
Medalist: Macy Beeson (Lapel) 36-33=69.
Southeastern scores: Amber Luttrell 40-39=79, Marissa Spreitzer 38-43=81, Yanah Rolston 45-37=82, Ashley Marcinko 41-42=83, Grace Dubec 47-39=86.
Noblesville scores: Sarah Brenneman 41-38=79, Caroline Whallon 41-41=82, Jordan Adam 44-41=85, Ellie Karst 41-45=86, Taylor Caldwell 45-41=86.
Heights scores: Sydni Zebrauskas 42-39=81, Rebekah Steffen 48-50=98, Lola Wilson 51-47=98, Anna Rickey 53-46=99, Kaylee Rhoton 52-51=103.
Fishers scores: Lilly McVay 40-42=82, Olivia Holding 52-47=99, Kristi Lilek 53-47=100, Sarah Majeski 53-48=101, Marissa Moore 53-61=114.