By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
As the second round of the IHSAA girls golf state finals finished up Saturday afternoon at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, it also marked the end of an era.
The senior class that brought Westfield to new heights concluded its high school career, but not before collecting its third consecutive runner-up trophy. The Shamrocks finished with a team score of 638, nosing out three-time defending champion Evansville North by one stroke for second place.
Westfield was one of four Hamilton County teams at state: Fishers notched its best-ever finish at sixth, Carmel placed seventh and Hamilton Southeastern was eighth.
Zionsville won the state championship, outdistancing itself from the field pretty much from the first green in Friday’s first round. The Eagles finished with a team score of 620, 18 strokes ahead of Westfield.
The Shamrocks wanted to win state too, of course, but Zionsville was simply too good. Instead, Westfield fought its way past the Evansville North Huskies, finally getting past them in the last few holes.
“Hats off to our kids that they clawed and grinded and made putts and made big shots to end up with the runner-up trophy again,” said ‘Rocks coach Trevor Neu. “So proud of these kids. So proud of what they’ve accomplished this year. It’s been a really fun season.”
Westfield’s highest placer was sophomore Jocelyn Bruch, who tied for ninth individually by shooting a two-day total of 154. Bruch was named to the All-State team for the second year in a row.
“I struggled today, but I made some good putts to hang in there and finish in the top 10,” said Bruch. “It was a blast. Our team is great, and it was just a lot of fun.”
Senior Cailyn Henderson finished just outside the top 10 with a 156, but she also made the All-State team, which takes both the top 10 golfers at state plus 10 more based on points earned from tournaments throughout the year. This made Henderson 4-for-4 when it came to earning an All-State place.
“I had a pretty good run,” said Henderson. “I slipped up this year, but that’s just golf.”
Henderson will play at Purdue University next fall. She joined Adrienne Montalone and Margaret Wentz as the senior golfers that played on each of Westfield’s runner-up teams. Emma Clary was the fourth senior on the list, she played the state tournament for the second time this weekend.
“It was a really good ending for their chapter,” said Neu.
The Tigers were playing at state for the third year in a row and their sixth-place performance was a one-spot improvement from last year. Fishers scored 658 for the weekend.
Leading the way was senior Morgan Lewis, who was the highest-placing individual from Hamilton County by taking sixth. Lewis also made the All-State team for the second year in a row.
“I was super excited,” said Lewis. “I didn’t know if our team was going to make it out this year, out of regionals, but we ended up making it out. We had a blast and it was really fun to come back for our senior year.”
“She finished her round today with birdie-birdie-birdie to get that sixth place,” said Fishers coach Danny Smith. “That was just a fantastic job of focusing and making it happen.”
Lewis will play golf at Ball State next year. She was one of five seniors on the team – Grace Brooks, Kennedy Brooker, Brooke Wilson and Anna DelPrince were the others – who helped take Fishers to new level in girls golf.
“These girls have been incredible all season long,” said Smith. “They’ve set goals, they’ve worked hard. We didn’t think we’d be able to set as many records as we did again this year, because we set them all last year. We turned around and these girls, they’ve been focused and they wanted to get back here and they did it.”
Carmel took seventh with a 662. Consistency has been the calling card for the Greyhounds, and they did it again by having three girls shoot 164: Junior Nina Hecht, freshman Katie Kuc and senior Erin Evans.
“Definitely consistent over the last two days, but we had some big numbers both days,” said Carmel coach Kelly Kluesner. “The wind was definitely a challenge for us. The course played pretty tough. I’m proud of the girls for staying in there. They continued to fight ’til the end, so that’s all we can ask for.”
Hecht was named to the All-State team, earning that honor for the second consecutive year.
“I struggled a lot the past few days, but I hung in there, barely,” said Hecht. She was also happy with how the season worked out – “I felt like it went pretty well,” she said.
Hamilton Southeastern scored 667 to take eighth place. Senior Haleigh Gray led the Royals with a two-day score of 160.
Guerin Catholic sophomore Angelica Pfefferkorn played as an individual, finishing with a score of 162.
TEAM SCORES: Zionsville 299-321=620, Westfield 316-322=638, Evansville North 318-321=639, Columbus North 326-324=650, Homestead 332-325=657, Fishers 329-329=658, Carmel 329-333=662, Hamilton Southeastern 330-337=667, Culver Academies 349-338=687, Valparaiso 362-349=711, Lafayette Jefferson 353-360=713, Evansville Memorial 359-361=720, Bishop Dwenger 367-358=725, Bedford North Lawrence 391-367=758, DeKalb 381-380=761.
Medalist: Kayla Benge (Plainfield) 71-74=145.
Westfield scores: Jocelyn Bruch 75-79=154 (tied for ninth individually), Cailyn Henderson 78-78=156, Adrienne Montalone 80-82=162, Margaret Wentz 83-83=166, Emma Clary 91-89=180.
Fishers scores: Morgan Lewis 75-78=153 (sixth place individually), Kennedy Brooker 85-81=166, Anna DelPrince 83-83=166, Brooke Wilson 86-87=173, Grace Brooks 89-93=182.
Carmel scores: Nina Hecht 83-81=164, Katie Kuc 82-82=164, Erin Evans 81-83=164, Alex Waples 83-87=170, Elizabeth Hedrick 90-90=180.
Southeastern scores: Haleigh Gray 78-82=160, Chelsea Morrow 82-82=164, Nicole Dillow 82-85=167, Dagny Gladwell 88-88=176, Julia Eaton 99-89=188.
Guerin Catholic score: Angelica Pfefferkorn 84-78=162.
The Westfield girls golf team finished as runner-up at the IHSAA girls golf state finals for the third year in a row. The Shamrocks carded a team score of 638 at state, which took place at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel Friday and Saturday. (Richie Hall)
Four Hamilton County golfers earned All-State honors at the conclusion of the IHSAA state golf meet. Pictured are Jocelyn Bruch (Westfield), Cailyn Henderson (Westfield), Nina Hecht (Carmel) and Morgan Lewis (Fishers).