With five teams ranked in the latest coaches poll, Hamilton County has proven itself to be one of the best areas for high school girls golf in Indiana.
All eight county teams got together Wednesday at Harbour Trees in Noblesville to re-start the Hamilton County Girls Golf Tournament, an event which had been dormant for several years. Westfield made it a sweep, taking both the team championship and also having the individual medalist in senior Jocelyn Bruch.
“It’s exciting to be able to have all the teams in the county at one tournament,” said Shamrocks coach Trevor Neu. “We feel like our county’s really strong, maybe one of the best in the state. That part alone, it’s just to be out here with all those top-caliber teams.”
The No. 3-ranked Shamrocks had a team score of 159 at the nine-hole tournament. Bruch led the way with an even-par 36.
“It was kind of up and down,” said Bruch. “The greens were tricky today, so I had a couple three-putts. But I made a couple birdies to balance it out.”
Westfield had consistent scores throughout: Natalie Shupe tied for third place individually with a 40, Cate Jensen scored 41, and Sophie McGinnis and Allie Hildebrand both had 42s.
Carmel finished in second place with a 173. Katie Kuc led the No. 4 Greyhounds by scoring 42, followed by Elizabeth Hedrick with a 43.
“We know what to work on and look forward to better results when we travel back there in a few weeks,” said Carmel coach Kelly Kluesner.
Noblesville placed third with a 178. Sarah Brenneman and Caroline Whallon both scored 41s for the No. 15 Millers, whose coach, Justin Werkley, helped get the tournament organized.
“Talked to a lot of the coaches, we just felt like it was too good of an opportunity to get some of the best players and best teams in the state to compete during the season,” said Werkley. “We wanted to throw this together and glad we got it worked out.”
Individually, Fishers’ Kaitlyn Brunnemer finished second with a 38. University sophomore Becky Williams, who went to state last year as a freshman, tied for third with a 40.
“It was really nice to be able to play against them before the end of the season and get a feel for how good everyone is this year, and it was nice to have stiff competition, people who can put up really good scores that I can compare myself to,” said Williams.
Amber Luttrell led No. 16 Hamilton Southeastern with a 43, while No. 19 Guerin Catholic’s Angelica Pfefferkorn and Hamilton Heights’ Sydni Zebrauskas both carded 44s.
Team scores: Westfield 159, Carmel 173, Noblesville 178, Hamilton Southeastern 181, Fishers 186, University 198, Guerin Catholic 204, Hamilton Heights 212.
Medalist: Jocelyn Bruch (W) 36.
Other Westfield scores: Natalie Shupe 40, Cate Jensen 41, Sophie McGinnis 42, Allie Hildebrand 42.
Carmel scores: Katie Kuc 42, Elizabeth Hedrick 43, Ava Hedrick 44, Ava Nguyen 44, Sydney Longstreth 47.
Noblesville scores: Sarah Brenneman 41, Caroline Whallon 41, Ellie Karst 48, Taylor Caldwell 48, Mia Sommervold 49.
Southeastern scores: Amber Luttrell 43, Payton Schechter 45, Ashley Marcinko 45, Lauren Stewart 48, Maggie Watson 48.
Fishers scores: Kaitlyn Brunnemer 38, Caitlyn Kim 47, Lilly McVay 49, Kaelyn Tai 52, Ellie Metzger 53.
University scores: Becky Williams 40, Kelsey DuBois 51, Abby Bladen 52, Vivian Suh 55, Molly Bickle 58.
Guerin Catholic scores: Angelica Pfefferkorn 44, Jenna Rust 48, Jenny Zerla 56, Mia Thompson 56, Audrey Kunce 60.
Heights scores: Sydni Zebrauskas 44, Ellie Arrowood 49, Alyx Harley 57, Rebekah Steffen 62, Kaylee Rhoton 66.
The Westfield girls golf team won the Hamilton County Girls Golf Tournament, which took place Wednesday at Harbour Trees. The Shamrocks’ Jocelyn Bruch was the individual medalist with a 36. (Richie Hall)