Six Hamilton County golfers named to All-State team following meet
By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – As the winds picked up speed at Prairie View, so did the Carmel girls golf team.
The Greyhounds began the final round of the IHSAA state finals down three strokes to Center Grove. The two teams were in a battle early during the second day of the two-day tournament, until suddenly they weren’t: Carmel pulled ahead midway through the round and soon breezed to the trophy.
The ‘Hounds won their third state championship in program history, scoring a two-day total of 629. Center Grove and Castle tied for runner-up honors, with each team carding 643. It was the first time Carmel had held a state trophy since 2013; the Greyhounds won their inaugural state title in 1980.
“It feels great,” said Carmel junior Claire Swathwood. “I’ve been working my butt off the last couple of months and I know we all have. It’s something I’ve really been hungry for since my freshman year, so it’s very rewarding to finally get it.”
The Greyhounds scored a 323 in their first round on Friday, so they improved their score by 17 strokes in one day.
“We just said after yesterday, we needed to reset, go back to our game plan,” said Carmel coach Kelly Kluesner. That plan was simple: “Fairways, greens, two putts and move on,” said Kluesner. “And they did a great job of it. They stayed patient all day.”
The tournament was played in near-perfect weather, with beautiful sunny skies and mild temperatures. The wind caused a little bit of a stir during the afternoon of that second round, but the ‘Hounds never let it bother them.
Instead, the Greyhounds were focused from the start. That was evident when both Swathwood and senior Ava Nguyen made a birdie to begin their rounds. All five Carmel players made at least one birdie during their second day, with Michaela Headlee and Kamryn Williams both draining two. Sophie Mock had one birdie in her round.
It was consistency that won the day and the tournament for the Greyhounds. Swathwood, Headlee and Mock all had second-round scores of 75. Carmel’s best hole of the second round was on No. 7: That was one of Williams’ birdie holes, while the other four girls made par. The ‘Hounds also had all five players make par on hole No. 17.
Carmel entered the tournament on a long win streak, then easily claimed sectional and regional championships. The Greyhounds were ranked No. 1 in the ICGSA coaches poll for most of the season, but were able to handle the pressure well.
“That’s always in the back of your mind,” said Kluesner. The coach said that being ranked No. 1 all season long “is a hard place to be. But I feel like they did a really good job of just staying in that moment, staying in that tournament and not letting those thoughts creep into their head too much. And they just trusted in their ability.”
“Our team bond was just absolutely unmatched,” said Swathwood. “I think that was another key is that, sometimes, if you get too focused or you’re not getting along the best, it just makes it that much harder. So just staying lighthearted, having fun out there, I think that’s a key.”
Individually, Swathwood was part of a four-way tie for sixth place, finishing with a two-day score of 155. Mock tied for 10th place by carding a 156. Both players were named to the ICGSA All-State team at the conclusion of the meet. Headlee also was named All-State based on her performance in tournaments throughout the season.
Six Hamilton County players were named
to the All-State team at the conclusion of the meet.
Pictured: Sophie Mock (Carmel), Caroline Whallon (Noblesville), Samantha Brown (Westfield), Addi Kooi (Westfield), Michaela Headlee (Carmel), Claire Swathwood (Carmel). (Richie Hall)
TOP 10S FOR WESTFIELD
Westfield finished in seventh place at state with a score of 667, led by two individuals reaching the top 10.
Sophomore Addi Kooi tied for fourth place, making her the highest-finishing golfer from Hamilton County. Kooi scored a 154, taking four strokes off her score from Friday to Saturday, 79 to 75.
“I think I played pretty well considering the conditions,” said Kooi. “I definitely had a few shots where I could have improved and made better decisions, but with the nerves, I think overall, it was a solid round.
Kooi played at state as a freshman, and credits experience as the difference from last year to this year.
“Stepping on the first tee, there’s no other feeling like it,” said Kooi. “The nerves, everyone watching. This year, I felt so much more confident stepping up there than last year.”
Samantha Brown finished as part of the four-way tie for sixth place, scoring a 156. Both Kooi and Brown were named to the All-State team. Brown made three birdies for her second round, while Kooi had two birdies.
“We couldn’t be happier,” said Westfield coach Josh Bryant. “With how difficult things are with the firm golf course, they hung in there and they grinded.”
Bryant said that he “could not be more proud of the entire team. We have a lot of things to look forward to next year with three of our five coming back. We’ll set our sights on that after we celebrate the end of the season.”
MILLERS EIGHTH, WHALLON ALL-STATE
Noblesville totaled a team score of 674, good for eighth place at state.
Senior Caroline Whallon led the way for the Millers, scoring a 79 in her second round. Whallon was also named to the all-state team; she won sectional and regional championships on her way to the state finals. She has committed to play golf at the University of Indianapolis.
“She’s just been incredible,” said Noblesville coach Justin Werkley. “Her leadership, her work ethic, her dedication. She’s going to be missed.”
The Millers’ other four state players return next year. Freshman Josie Kelley scored an 80 on Saturday; both she, classmate Olivia Fowler and sophomore Karis Shields all made one birdie in their round. Junior Jordan Adam is also back next year.
“They’ll learn from this and they’ll be better for it going forward,” said Werkley. “We’ll just keep trying to get better and look forward to next year.”
Noblesville’s Jordan Adam watches her tee shot early in the second round. (Kent Graham)
ROYALS PLACE NINTH
Hamilton Southeastern placed ninth as a team, scoring a 682 over the two days. Senior Lauren Stewart led the Royals with an 80, including one birdie. The future looks solid for Southeastern, as freshman Janelle Meghan Garcia played solid in her first state tournament, making a second-round birdie.
The Royals scored a 347 for their first round, so they improved by 12 strokes from Friday to Saturday.
“I was so proud of them for just putting yesterday aside, and come out and start fresh,” said HSE coach Steve Guenin, who was pleased with his team’s attitude. “We didn’t play as well as we can, but I was really happy with what we did today.”
Hamilton Southeastern’s Janelle Meghan Garcia had one birdie during her second round. (Kent Graham)
Team scores: Carmel 323-306=629, Castle 328-315=643, Center Grove 320-323=643, Homestead 329-328=657, Culver Academies 328-330=658, Batesville 329-332=661, Westfield 335-332=667, Noblesville 348-326=674, Hamilton Southeastern 347-335=682, Floyd Central 349-345=694, Zionsville 354-350=704, Fort Wayne Carroll 363-350=713, Penn 359-355=714, Lake Central 380-371=751, Bedford North Lawrence 403-372=775, Valparaiso 388-394=782, Gibson Southern 403-397=800, Delta 444-417=861.
Top 10 individuals: 1. Ava Bunker (Columbus North) 69-73=142, 2. Ashley Kirkland (Castle) 79-72=151, 3. Ava South (Batesville) 74-78=152, T4. Addi Kooi (Westfield) 79-75=154; Eleanor Teglia (Culver Academies) 78-76=154, T6. Lexi Ray (Franklin Community) 81-74=155; Samantha Brown (Westfield) 78-77=155; Scarlett Senk (Homestead) 81-75=155; Claire Swathwood (Carmel) 80-75=155, T10. Sophie Mock (Carmel) 81-75=156; Sage Parsetich (Center Grove) 76-80=156.
Other Carmel scores: Michaela Headlee 75-82=157, Kamryn Williams 84-81=165, Ava Nguyen 80-85=165.
Other Westfield scores: Allie McKeown 87-90=177, Claire Thompson 96-90=186, Kelsey Haverluck 91-101=192.
Noblesville scores: Caroline Whallon 78-79=157, Josie Kelley 87-80=167, Jordan Adam 88-83=171, Olivia Fowler 95-84=179, Karis Shields 98-88=186.
Southeastern scores: Lauren Stewart 86-80=166, Janelle Meghan Garcia 83-84=167, Ella Bui 87-88=175, Makenna Watson 91-87=178, Cora Zink 95-84=179.