By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
The first week of the high school girls golf season is in the history books.
It’s been a busy week, with a handful of teams playing as many as five 18-hole tournaments. Next week things will start to calm down, as some of those teams head back to class.
Westfield’s golfers return to the classroom on Wednesday, but they will do so as four-time invitational winners. The Shamrocks notched their biggest win yet Saturday at the State Preview meet, which took place at Prairie View Golf Course in Carmel, the site of the IHSAA state finals.
The No. 2-ranked Shamrocks edged No. 4 Columbus North by one shot, 309-310, to win the tournament. Third-ranked Zionsville was a close third with 313. This was the fourth victory for Westfield in the five tournaments it’s played, with the fifth a runner-up finish to the Eagles.
“I think that if you told us that we were going to take four of five this week and finish runner-up in one, we’d have been okay with having that,” said Westfield coach Trevor Neu.
As usual, the Shamrocks were their consistent selves. Jocelyn Bruch shot a 74, with Cailyn Henderson carding a 75 and Adrienne Montalone scoring 77.
“I was really happy with how everybody played,” said Neu. “We made the turn on the front side, probably could have been really close to being under par on the front, except we had a couple holes that we had mishaps on that hopefully we can clean up.”
After that, the coach credited his team with maintaining their scores, and let any big scores rattle them.
The ‘Rocks have one more invitational to play before school starts, the Cathedral Invite on Monday. After that it’s time to head back to school. Westfield’s first event after classes start is the Western Invite on Saturday.
Evansville North, the top-ranked team and three-time defending state champion, finished fourth with a 321. Next in line were Carmel and Fishers, who each scored 324. The No. 7 Greyhounds took fifth place on the fifth-woman score.
Katie Kuc led Carmel with a 76, with Erin Evans shooting a 78. As for the No. 6 Tigers, Kennedy Brooker was solid with her own 76, followed by Morgan Lewis carding a 77.
Tenth-ranked Hamilton Southeastern finished with a 343. Chelsea Morrow had the Royals’ best score of the day with an 81.
Noblesville, ranked No. 19, opened its season at the State Preview meet. The Millers shot a 394; Sarah Hayes led her team with an 86.
TEAM SCORES: Westfield 309, Columbus North 310, Zionsville 313, Evansville North 321, Carmel 324, Fishers 324, Homestead 335, Lake Central 336, Hamilton Southeastern 343, Penn 348, Brownsburg 350, Bishop Dwenger 357, Lafayette Jefferson 360, Evansville Memorial 379, Western 384, Noblesville 394, Vincennes Rivet 399, New Palestine 406.
Medalist: Danbi Kim (Columbus North) 36-34=70.
Westfield scores: Jocelyn Bruch 37-37=74, Cailyn Henderson 38-37=75, Adrienne Montalone 38-39=77, Margaret Wentz 38-45=83, Natalie Shupe 51-44=95.
Carmel scores: Katie Kuc 37-39=76, Erin Evans 38-40=78, Nina Hecht 41-40=81, Elizabeth Hedrick 44-45=89, Alex Waples 44-49=93.
Fishers scores: Kennedy Brooker 36-40=76, Morgan Lewis 38-39=77, Anna DelPrince 42-43=85, Brooke Wilson 45-41=86, Mary McGuire 50-50=100.
Southeastern scores: Chelsea Morrow 40-41=81, Julia Eaton 39-44=83, Haleigh Gray 45-42=87, Nicole Dillow 43-49=92, Dagny Gladwell 48-46=94.
Noblesville scores: Sarah Hayes 42-44=86, Brooke Gigante 45-51=96, Taylor Keating 56-43=99, Ellie Karst 51-62=113, Taylor Caldwell 66-71=137.
GOLDEN EAGLES WIN MONROE CENTRAL INVITE
Guerin Catholic finished first at the Monroe Central Invitational Saturday at Hickory Hills Golf Club in Farmland.
Team scores were unavailable. Gabriella Gilrowski was the individual medalist with a 76.
GOLF FINALS STAYING AT PRAIRIE VIEW
Prairie View Golf Club will be the host of the IHSAA state finals through 2024, the Reporter has learned.
The IHSAA and Prairie View had a five-year deal to conduct the state finals at the Carmel golf course through 2019. Doc O’Neal, Chief Operating Officer of Cohoat and O’Neal, operator of Prairie View, confirmed to the Reporter on Saturday that the club will continue to host the state finals for another five years after that.
Prairie View has been the host of the state finals since 2014.
The Westfield girls golf team won the State Preview meet Saturday, making the Shamrocks four-for-five in tournaments played so far this season. (Richie Hall)
Alex Waples’ score helped Carmel score fifth place at the State Preview.