By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
As much as the Fishers girls golf team has accomplished in a short period of time, there’s always some more history to be made.
The Tigers recorded another first Saturday at Edgewood Country Club, winning the Lapel regional. It’s the first time Fishers has won a girls golf regional, and it also will send the Tigers back to the state meet for the third time.
Fishers carded a team score of 305, one stroke ahead of the other two state qualifiers. Hamilton Southeastern and Columbus North tied for second, both shooting 306s.
“It’s a fantastic feeling,” said Tigers coach Danny Smith. “These girls, they’ve set goals, and one of the goals for this regional was to win. They accomplished that.”
The highlight of Fishers’ victory was a sensational round by Morgan Lewis. The senior ran away with medalist honors by shooting a five-under par 66. Lewis made five birdies during her round, and capped it off with an eagle putt on the 18th hole to shoot her personal-best score.
“I played really well,” said Lewis, who had never broken the 70s before Saturday. Lewis admitted she wasn’t confident going into the regional, but after a lesson with her coach, she said “everything just seemed to click.” She also said this was the best putting day she’s ever had.
“I mean, everything was just going right,” said Lewis.
Fishers was helped as well by Kennedy Brooker, who tied for fourth place with a 74. Smith said one of the goals for the team was to have two or three players in the top 10. The Tigers placed two in the top four.
“I’m very proud of all of them,” said Smith, who saw his team make it to state for the third year in a row.
The Royals got a great performance out of Chelsea Morrow, who was the individual runner-up with an even-par 71, a personal best. Morrow made three birdies in her Saturday round.
“I think I did pretty well, considering how I started out,” said Morrow. “But I just kept going through, no matter what.”
Haleigh Gray also made the top 10 for HSE, finishing in a three-way tie for ninth after shooting a 77. When all was said and done, the Royals had earned themselves a 14th trip to the state meet.
“It’s very exciting, for sure,” said Southeastern coach Steve Guenin. “We know it was going to be a tough regional. We knew there were some tough teams coming in here. We were going to have to put up a pretty good number, and sure enough, we did. We played really well today. Very excited.”
Noblesville finished tied for sixth at Edgewood, scoring 351. Sarah Hayes led the Millers with an 82.
WESTFIELD, CARMEL ADVANCE
Meanwhile, two more Hamilton County teams, and a Guerin Catholic individual, qualified for state out of the Roncalli regional, which took place this year at The Legends Golf Course in Franklin.
Westfield, the state runner-up the past two years, finished in second place with a 306, while Carmel took third with a 314. Zionsville won the regional championship with a score of 303.
Jocelyn Bruch led the Shamrocks, placing third individually by carding a 74. This will be the fourth consecutive state meet for Westfield.
“We actually got off to kind of a shaky start, didn’t have the best front nine we would’ve wanted,” said Westfield coach Trevor Neu. “But I’m really proud of how the girls battled in the back nine, threw in some really good scores, had several birdies on the back nine to finish with a pretty strong score today.”
The Greyhounds had a consistent day, with Nina Hecht and Katie Kuc both shooting 76s to lead their team.
“I think they played great, especially our first three,” said Carmel coach Kelly Kluesner. “Two 76s, 77, especially in this heat. We had a couple holes that were a struggle, but overall they fought ’til the end,” said the coach.
This marks the 26th time that the Greyhounds have qualified for the state meet, putting them in second place overall. Lafayette Jefferson is the all-time leader; the Bronchos will mark their 30th appearance at state after winning their own regional on Saturday.
Guerin Catholic’s Angelica Pfefferkorn qualified for state, the first time she will play at the big tournament. Pfefferkorn’s 79 was good enough to make her the fifth Golden Eagle to play at state, following Carlie Gehlhausen (2008), Lucy Stevens (2011), Sarah Baxter (2013) and Marissa Singer (2014).
“The course was a challenge, and I think it was really fun, though,” said Pfefferkorn. “I had some rough shots out there, but overall it was a pretty okay day.”
The state meet takes place this coming Friday and Saturday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.
AT EDGEWOOD
Team scores: Fishers 305, Columbus North 306, Hamilton Southeastern 306, Cathedral 317, Franklin County 335, Noblesville 351, New Palestine 351, Columbus East 354, Richmond 358, Union County 366, Muncie Central 367, Greenfield-Central 373, Delta 375, Bishop Chatard 383, North Central 383, Greensburg 386, Greenwood 391, Wapahani 412.
Medalist: Morgan Lewis (Fishers) 35-31=66.
Other Fishers scores: Kennedy Brooker 39-35=74, Anna DelPrince 39-41=80, Brooke Wilson 43-42=85, Grace Brooks 43-42=85.
Southeastern scores: Chelsea Morrow 35-36=71, Haleigh Gray 42-35=77, Nicole Dillow 43-35=78, Julia Eaton 39-41=80, Dagny Gladwell 43-41=84.
Noblesville scores: Sarah Hayes 45-37=82, Taylor Keating 43-42=85, Brooke Gigante 46-43=89, Ellie Karst 49-46=95, Bella Deibel 47-52=99.
AT THE LEGENDS
Team scores: Zionsville 303, Westfield 306, Carmel 314, Brownsburg 322, Plainfield 347, Terre Haute South 361, Roncalli 361, Franklin Community 362, Center Grove 366, Lebanon 366, Covenant Christian 388, Western Boone 406, Madison 409, Terre Haute North 410, Greencastle 413, Jennings County 422, Southmont 437.
Medalist: Kayla Benge (Plainfield) 34-35=69.
Westfield scores: Jocelyn Bruch 38-36=74, Adrienne Montalone 39-37=76, Cailyn Henderson 39-38=77, Margaret Wentz 41-38=79, Natalie Shupe 46-43=89.
Carmel scores: Nina Hecht 38-38=76, Katie Kuc 42-34=76, Erin Evans 36-41=77, Alex Waples 41-44=85, Libby McGuire 44-49=93.
Guerin Catholic scores: Angelica Pfefferkorn 40-39=79, Gabby Gilrowski 44-40=84.
The Fishers girls golf team won its first-ever regional championship Saturday at Edgewood Country Club. The Tigers finished on top of a tight regional field with a score of 305. (Richie Hall)
Westfield finished second at the Roncalli regional at The Legends, qualifying for state for the fourth year in a row. (Richie Hall)
Hamilton Southeastern tied for second at the Lapel regional at Edgewood Country Club. The Royals earned a 14th trip to the state finals. (Richie Hall)
Carmel placed third at The Legends. The Greyhounds will play at state for the 26th time, which is second on the all-time list. (Richie Hall)
Angelica Pfefferkorn