All eight local teams travel to Harbour Trees for Hamilton County tournament
By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com
Hamilton County girls golf teams have to look no further than their own backyard to find quality competition.
All eight of the local teams traveled up to Harbour Trees on Thursday for the Hamilton County meet, which was hosted by Noblesville. It was the first meet of the season for the Millers, and it turned out well for them: the Millers finished with a score of 303 to claim the first-place trophy.
“I think we played great,” said Noblesville coach Justin Werkley. Since it was the first tournament of the year, the No. 6-ranked Millers had no expectations for the event.
“We just wanted to come out and do the best we could,” said Werkley. “They held it together, they played well, attitudes were great. I can’t say enough good things about it.”
Noblesville also had the individual medalist as well. Senior Caroline Whallon, who spent the beginning of the week competing at the Junior PGA Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club at Palos Park, Ill., was the meet medalist with an even-par 71. Whallon went under par in her first nine holes, with a 34, and then followed that up with a 37 on her next nine holes.
“It was definitely a mentally challenging few days, just playing with some of the best golfers in the whole country,” said Whallon. But she said the experience challenged her and helped her to become mentally stronger, and will help her in the long run throughout the season.
Noblesville’s Caroline Whallon was the individual medalist at the meet, carding
an even-par 71. (Kirk Green)
“Playing in a tournament like that is an awesome experience, and she’ll have a ton of positive takeaways from it,” said Werkley. “But I also know she’s happy to be back playing with her teammates and getting the season underway. She’s a great leader and we’re lucky to have her.”
The Millers had a consistent day all around. Jordan Adam placed third with a score of 74, then Josie Kelley also got a top 10 finish in her first-ever meet, taking eighth with a 77.
“Josie is a freshman,” said Werkley. “A great player, great kid, love having her on the team. Jordan’s made a ton of strides with her game this year. Karis Shields has stepped up big time, and then we’ve got a lot of other players that are competing for all those spots, too.”
“With Josie coming in, I feel like we’re probably going to be the strongest we’ve been in years, so I’m really excited for this season,” said Whallon.
Westfield was the team runner-up, totaling a solid score of 306. The No. 4-ranked Shamrocks also had three players finish in the top 10, led by Addi Kooi. The sophomore took second individually with a score of 72. Freshman Kelsey Haverluck and Allie McKeown tied for fifth place; both carded 76s.
Westfield’s Addi Kooi finished as individual runner-up, scoring a 72. (Kirk Green)
Westfield coach Josh Bryant, in his first year of leading the girls team, was happy with how his team played. He noted that Harbour Trees is “a very difficult track. That rough was thick. And it’s a place that you play that, the girls don’t get as much experience on other golf courses that we will play like Harbour Trees, and we handled it really well. Our putting was great. Our play around the greens was great.”
Carmel, ranked No. 1 in the state, finished a close third with a score of 311. The Greyhounds were another team with three players in the top 10. Sophie Mock finished fourth with a 75, Michaela Headlee tied for fifth with a 76 and Ava Nguyen was ninth with a 79.
Carmel’s Michaela Headlee tied for fifth place, scoring a 76. (Kirk Green)
Carmel won its first three tournaments of the year, so the ‘Hounds were playing their fourth event in four days.
“It’s been a strong start,” said Carmel coach Kelly Kluesner. “We’ve seen different players lead our team every single tournament, which is always exciting and something that we look forward to. “
Kluesner admitted that the team “had some struggled with the greens out there. This course can definitely jump up and bite you, and today it got a few of our players. But we’re really happy with the start of our season and look forward to the State Preview on Saturday.”
Hamilton Southeastern, ranked fifth in the state, scored a 330 for fourth place. Janelle Garcia tied for 10th individually by carding an 80. Guerin Catholic was fifth with a team score of 368; Sydney Delagrange also tied for 10th with an 80.
Kristi Lilek led Fishers by scoring 87; the Tigers totaled 378 as a team. Ashlyn Tharp led Hamilton Heights with a 91, while Kelsey DuBois scored a 92 for University.
Team scores: Noblesville 303, Westfield 306, Carmel 311, Hamilton Southeastern 330, Guerin Catholic 368, Fishers 378, Hamilton Heights 409, University 460.
Medalist: Caroline Whallon (Noblesville) 34-37=71.
Other Noblesville scores: Jordan Adam 38-36=74, Josie Kelley 38-39=77, Karis Shields 40-41=81, Emma Leming 48-42=90, Olivia Anderson 45-52=97.
Westfield scores: Addi Kooi 36-36=72, Kelsey Haverluck 36-40=76, Allie McKeown 38-38=76, Claire Thompson 40-42=82, Lilley Ku 39-46=85, Sam Lemieux 40-47=87.
Carmel scores: Sophie Mock 39-36=75, Michaela Headlee 40-36=76, Ava Nguyen 39-40=79, Sophie Cassidy 39-42=81, Claire Swathwood 37-45=82.
Southeastern scores: Janelle Garcia 36-44=80, Lauren Stewart 42-41=83, Cora Zink 42-41=83, Makenna Watson 48-43=91, Reese Hissong 46-47=93.
Guerin Catholic scores: Sydney Delagrange 40-40=80, Izzy Pinon 42-45=87, Gracie Navarro 49-51=100, Sarah Rigg 53-48=101, Ali Scott 53-49=102, Avery Wall 54-53=107.
Fishers scores: Olivia Holding 43-44=87, Sarah Majeski 45-48=93, Kristi Lilek 46-48=94, Kate Jansen 51-53=104, Ayanna Bodake 49-58=107, Lola Kivett 56-59=115.
Heights scores: Ashlyn Tharp 42-49=91, Anna Rickey 50-53=103, Lola Wilson 53-50=103, Kaylee Rhoton 55-57=112.
University scores: Kelsey DuBois 42-50=92, Grace Cates 51-50=101, Scout Griffiths 66-61=127, Quincy Russell 70-70=140.