Girls golf state finals: Carmel’s Kuc in second place after round one; ‘Hounds, ‘Rocks in team top five

The Nos. 1 and 2 ranked teams in the state pulled away during the first round of the IHSAA girls golf state finals Friday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.
No. 2 Homestead holds the lead with a 302, while No. 1 Evansville North is second with a 311. After that, there’s a close race between positions 3 and 5, with two Hamilton County teams in the mix.
Carmel is currently third with a 323. Junior Katie Kuc got off to an incredible start, shooting a one-under par 71. Kuc made four birdies and is one back from the leader, Morgan Dabagia of Homestead, who carded a two-under 70.
Sophomore Ava Hedrick made two birdies in her round of 80, with Sydney Longstreth made one birdie.
Zionsville sits in fourth place after the first round with a 324. Right behind the Eagles are Westfield, which is in fifth with a 325. Sophie McGinnis led the Shamrocks with a 77, including three birdies; she is currently tied for ninth place individually. Allie Hildebrand has two birdies in her round, with the other three Westfield players, Jocelyn Bruch, Natalie Shupe and Brette Hananvan, all made one.
Noblesville is in eighth place with a 350. Sarah Brenneman led the Millers in the first round with an 82. Caroline Whallon has two birdies, with Brenneman, Ellie Karst and Bella Deibel all making one.
Guerin Catholic’s Angelica Pfefferkorn carded an 80, including one birdie, while Christina Pfefferkorn scored an 84.
The state meet continues today at Prairie View. Golf began at 8:30 a.m., at which time Angelica Pfefferkorn went off the 10th tee. Christina Pfefferkorn followed her off No. 10 at 8:39 a.m.
As for the teams, all three county schools will start from the No. 1 tee. Noblesville’s golfers will tee off between 8:57 and 9:33 a.m., Westfield begins from 9:42 to 10:18 a.m., and Carmel starts from 10:27 to 11:03 a.m.

Team scores: Homestead 302, Evansville North 311, Carmel 323, Zionsville 324, Westfield 325, Columbus North 334, NorthWood 342, Evansville Memorial 350, Noblesville 350, Culver Academies 353, Crown Point 361, Lake Central 380, Lapel 385, Gibson Southern 390, Penn 396.
Carmel scores: Katie Kuc 71, Ava Hedrick 80, Elizabeth Hedrick 83, Sydney Longstreth 89, Ava Nguyen 89.
Westfield scores: Sophie McGinnis 77, Jocelyn Bruch 79, Allie Hildebrand 80, Natalie Shupe 89, Brette Hanavan 91.
Noblesville scores: Sarah Brenneman 82, Caroline Whallon 84, Ellie Karst 87, Bella Deibel 97, Taylor Caldwell 103.
Guerin Catholic scores: Angelica Pfefferkorn 80, Christina Pfefferkorn 84.