By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – The Carmel and Westfield girls golf teams had a new host and new site for the girls golf sectional, but both teams continued to have the same success.
The Greyhounds triumphed at Saturday’s sectional, now presented by Guerin Catholic and taking place at Pebble Brook Golf Club in Westfield. Carmel scored the program’s 12th sectional championship and its first since 2018. The Shamrocks finished a strong second.
Both teams advance to next week’s Roncalli regional at Smock Golf Club in Indianapolis, along with third-place University. The Trailblazers made history with their performance, becoming the first golf team from that school to qualify for the regional.
The ‘Hounds won with a team score of 294 and had all five of their golfers shoot 78 or better.
“We’ve been preparing for it all season and to see it in action was great,” said Carmel coach Kelly Kluesner. “They stayed positive, stayed true to their game and just played the course.”
Leading the way was freshman Michaela Headlee, who carded a one-under par 69.
“It was fun,” said Headlee. “I wasn’t really nervous. I was more excited.”
Headlee made three birdies in her round.
“My putting was saving me and I was hitting a lot of greens,” said Headlee.
“She’s definitely used to tournament golf and had a great mind for it,” said Kluesner. “She’s steady and waits for those birdies to come, capitalizes when she can. She’s awesome to watch.”
Senior Katie Kuc tied for second individually with a 73. Kuc had a strong finish, making birdies in two of her last three holes. Ava Hedrick tied for fifth by scoring 74; that included a 33 on the back nine. Hedrick had three birdies, including her last two holes.
“Katie and Ava both started out a little slow on their first few holes,” said Kluesner. “They didn’t give up. They knew that they had lots of pars and birdies out there and they both finished really strong.”
Sydney Longstreth and Claire Swathwood both had 78s, with Longstreth making two birdies.
The Shamrocks totaled 304 for their round. Samantha Brown was part of the second-place tie with her score of 73, including three birdies. Sophie McGinnis tied for fifth by shooting a 74, that included two birdies.
“I think we shot a good score,” said Westfield coach Trevor Neu. “Obviously, survive and advance. But we played well out there. Some mental hurdles that we got over and met pretty well. We put together some good scores and had a good day.”
Allie Hildebrand made one birdie on her way to a 78, while Brette Hanavan carded a 79, draining two birdies. Allie McKeown had two birdies.
University’s team score was 347, easily the best 18-hole mark for the Trailblazers in school history. Becky Williams, a state qualifier two years ago, led University with a 76, including two birdies. Kelsey DuBois, who made it to the regional with Williams last year, had one birdie on her way to an 82.
“This group has been a really close-knit group of teammates for a couple years now, and we have a four-year senior in Molly (Bickle) who’s graduating this year,” said ‘Blazers coach Taylor Newell. “Being able to finally get over the hump with this group because they’ve been working so hard towards it is really awesome.”
The host, Guerin Catholic, finished fourth with a 354, but did advance a player on to the regional. Christina Pfefferkorn, a state qualifier the previous year, was part of the second-place tie with a 73. Pfefferkorn made two birdies in her round.
“I think today was okay,” said Pfefferkorn. “Some shots I left out there, but it was okay.”
Team scores: Carmel 294, Westfield 304, University 347, Guerin Catholic 354, Brebeuf Jesuit 368, Speedway 396, Covenant Christian 413, Cardinal Ritter 417, Ben Davis 451, Pike inc.
Medalist: Michaela Headlee (Carmel) 34-35=69.
Other Carmel scores: Katie Kuc 39-34=73, Ava Hedrick 41-33=74, Sydney Longstreth 41-37=78, Claire Swathwood 39-39=78.
Westfield scores: Samantha Brown 36-37=73, Sophie McGinnis 38-36=74, Allie Hildebrand 39-39=78, Brette Hanavan 42-37=79, Allie Mc-
Keown 40-45=85.
University scores: Becky Williams 36-40=76, Kelsey DuBois 42-40=82, Abby Bladen 50-40=90, Vivian Suh 52-47=99, Molly Bickle 59-49=108.
Guerin Catholic scores: Christina Pfefferkorn 36-37=73, Audrey Kunce 46-44=90, Jenny Zerla 48-46=94, Isabella Pinon 52-45=97, Mia Thompson 49-48=97.