By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – On a picture-perfect day at Prairie View, the four Hamilton County girls golf teams that participated at the IHSAA state finals all had reason to celebrate.
Westfield continued its new tradition of excellence at state, while Carmel added another chapter to its long-time legacy. Noblesville made a triumphant return to state-level competition, and a pair of sisters from Guerin Catholic made their mark.
The Shamrocks were the highest-finishing county team at state. Westfield carded a team score of 643 to place fourth, returning to the podium for the fourth time in school history. The Shamrocks were runners-up three years in a row in 2015-16-17. Westfield was in fifth place after the first round, so it was able to move up one spot back on to the medals stand.
“We had a more consistent day today,” said Westfield coach Trevor Neu. The coach said his team’s performances on both nines (back and front) were more indicative of what the Shamrocks are capable of.
“Yesterday we had a really good first nine holes and then had some mishaps on the back nine, and today we didn’t really have that,” said Neu. “We just played good, consistent golf and battled to make sure that we didn’t have any big numbers today.”
Westfield was again led by Jocelyn Bruch, the senior who came in as the defending individual state champion. Bruch finished seventh this year with a score of 150; she moved herself into the top 10 with a one-under par 71 for her second round, including four birdies. Bruch was named to the All-State team at the conclusion of the meet.
“Today I played a lot better,” said Bruch. “It was tough coming off of a poor first day, but my coach and I put in a lot of work last night, figured some things out. Just tried to come out and forget about the first day and play as well as I could for myself, my team and my high school, since it was my last tournament representing Westfield.”
Bruch was paired with Zionsville’s Annabelle Pancake, another senior, who finished tied for third.
“All the girls had a really good day today,” said Neu. “It was really fun watching Jocelyn paired with Annabelle. Watching them for four years was really exciting and they were hitting some really good shots there down the stretch. So it was good to see her turn her two days around and have a really good day today and finish her four years for us really strong.”
Bruch is off to Purdue University next fall, and Natalie Shupe also graduates. Shupe made a birdie during her second round. But the other three players for the Shamrocks are sophomores and will return, including Sophie McGinnis, who had two birdies on Saturday.
Carmel finished fifth at the state meet, making its 12th appearance at state in the last 13 years. The Greyhounds’ top golfer was junior Katie Kuc, who had the highest place of any Hamilton County golfer by finishing fifth.
Kuc shot a 147, making one birdie in her second round. She was named to the All-State team.
“It was a little rough,” said Kuc. “I started off fine, but No. 9 got to me. But after that I was able to keep my head in the game and finish the back nine even. I’m glad I didn’t get off track and I just stayed in the game.”
Senior Elizabeth Hedrick and junior Sydney Longstreth both had two birdies in their second round.
“Overall we played really well,” said Greyhounds coach Kelly Kluesner. “We left a couple strokes out there, missed a couple greens that cost them some shots out there. That’s the key out there, to hit the greens. But super proud of this team, the season overall that we had. This team has supported each other from Day 1 all the way through right now. We have a team of girls, not any individuals.”
“We’ve had a great season overall,” said Kluesner. “Ava Nguyen has fit in perfectly with our team. This is her first time at state, Syd’s first time playing in state. I think Katie, Ava (Hedrick) and Elizabeth helped them and got them prepared for this tournament and we’ll be ready for next year.”
“This team, we got really close,” said Kuc. “We bonded very well this year. Probably my favorite season yet. I played well, my team played well. I’m glad. We got top five at state, so I’m happy with how the season finished.”
Noblesville was also happy with the season finished, since the Millers finished their season at state. Noblesville hadn’t been to the state meet since 2013, and the Millers played well, finishing in seventh.
Freshman Caroline Whallon led Noblesville with a two-day score of 159, including a 75 for her second round. Whallon and junior Sarah Brenneman both made two birdies, while junior Bella Deibel had one.
“We played great,” said Noblesville coach Justin Werkley. “Caroline as a freshman to shoot 75 on the biggest stage is huge. For Sarah to shoot even-par on the back to break 80 and shoot 79 was really special. So really proud of the girls. They played great.”
Guerin Catholic was represented by the Pfefferkorn sisters, senior Angelica and sophomore Christina. Angelica Pfefferkorn made history by finishing in eighth place with a 151, making her the first Golden Eagles girls golfer to finish in the top 10. Angelica went one-under par for her second round (71), making four birdies, and was also named to the All-State team.
“I’ve been really working towards this and it’s been great,” said Pfefferkorn. “I think I played great today, especially because of yesterday’s round, I had to make a comeback and turn things around to get where I wanted to be, and I think I did that.”
Christina Pfefferkorn finished with a score of 169, making one birdie in her second round.
Homestead won the meet with a team score of 605, the Spartans’ first state title in girls golf. Defending state champion Evansville North was second with a 617, while Zionsville placed third with a 635.
Team scores: Homestead 302-303=605, Evansville North 311-306=617, Zionsville 324-311=635, Westfield 325-318=643, Carmel 323-325=648, NorthWood 342-338=680, Noblesville 350-332=682, Columbus North 334-351=685, Culver Academies 353-340=693, Evansville Memorial 350-365=715, Crown Point 361-362=723, Lake Central 380-364=744, Lapel 385-374=759, Gibson Southern 390-374=764, Penn 396-391=787.
Top 10 golfers: Faith Johnson (EN) 73-69=142, 2. Madison Dabgia (H) 73-71=144, T3. Morgan Dabagia (H) 70-75=145; Annabelle Pancake (Z) 76-69=145, 5. Katie Kuc (C) 71-76=147, 6. Cybil Stillson (NW) 75-74=149, 7. Jocelyn Bruch (W) 79-71=150, 8. Angelica Pfefferkorn (Guerin Catholic) 80-71=151, T9. Simone Senk (H) 77-76=153; Madeleine Pape (Bishop Leurs) 75-78=153; Lauren Kaltenmark (Z) 77-76=153; Reese Wilson (CA) 77-76=153.
Other Westfield scores: Sophie McGinnis 77-79=156, Allie Hildebrand 80-84=164, Natalie Shupe 89-84=173, Brette Hanavan 91-91=182.
Other Carmel scores: Ava Hedrick 80-81=161, Sydney Longstreth 89-81=170, Elizabeth Hedrick 83-88=171, Ava Nguyen 89-87=176.
Noblesville scores: Caroline Whallon 84-75=159, Sarah Brenneman 82-79=161, Ellie Karst 87-82=169, Bella Deibel 97-96=193, Taylor Caldwell 103-96=199.
Other Guerin Catholic score: Christina Pfefferkorn 84-85=169.
The Westfield girls golf team finished fourth at the IHSAA state meet, which finished Saturday at Prairie View Golf Course in Carmel. The fourth-place finish meant a return to the podium for the Shamrocks, this after three runner-up finishes in 2015-16-17. (Richie Hall)
Three Hamilton County girls finished in the top 10 individual standings: Carmel’s Katie Kuc (left) placed fifth, Westfield’s Jocelyn Bruch (center) finished seventh and Guerin Catholic’s Angelica Pfefferkorn (right) placed ninth. All three were named to the All-State team at the conclusion of the meet. (Richie Hall)