News

Eleven players that finished in last year’s top 25, including defending state champion Trisha Witherby of Richmond, have qualified for the 37th Annual IHSAA Girls Golf State Finals which begin Friday at The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin.

This is the 10th year the course has hosted the girls state finals.

Twenty-one teams advanced five golfers each and 22 individuals have moved on without their squads. Participants will tee off the Middle 9 course and the Road 9 course beginning at 8:30 am ET / 7:30 am CT on Friday. Those teams and individuals that make the cut will return for a second day on Saturday with the first group again starting at 8:30 am ET. The first round tee times and pairings are available here.

Witherby, a junior, captured last year’s state title with a 143, the fourth lowest score ever in the state finals, including a record 66 in the opening round. She turned in a 69 to win the sectional at Highland Lake on Sept. 19 and placed second with a 73 at the regional held at Westwood Golf Club last Saturday.

Also returning from last year’s top 10 are Taylor Gohn (4th) of Columbus North, Brooke Beegle (T7th) of defending state champion Hamilton Southeastern, and Ashley Kees (9th) of Carroll (Fort Wayne). Gohn tied for third with an 81 last weekend at Foxcliff, Beegle shot an 82 at Westwood and Kees tied for third with a 75 at Noble Hawk.

Top-ranked Roncalli which edged No. 5 Carmel on its fifth player’s score to take team regional honors last weekend are two of sixteen repeat qualifiers from a year ago. The Rebels are making their fourth straight trip to state and the Greyhounds their third. Carmel fired a 294 in the sectional marking the third-lowest score in tournament history. Only Western (291) in 2002 and Penn (293) in 2005 have put up better scores. Both occurred in sectional play as well.

No. 4 Richmond edged No. 11 Noblesville with its fifth player’s score for the regional crown at Westwood. No. 6 Hamilton Southeastern finished third.

Second-ranked Martinsville, which will be trying for its 11th state title under coach Sharon Most, will be a contender after winning its sixth straight regional at Foxcliff. The Artesians edged No. 3 Columbus North by three strokes.

Evansville Memorial will be making its 10th consecutive appearance in the state finals after placing second to No. 10 Evansville North at the regional held at Eagle Valley. The individual crown had to be decided on Monday when North’s Natalie Schmett edged Memorial’s Dana Hayden in a one-hole playoff.

Shelbyville’s third place finish last weekend at Smock ended the longest drought of any of the participating teams as the Golden Bears will compete at state for the first time since 1995.

Fans and media are invited to view the progress of the state finals by visiting www.golfstat.com. The IHSAA will post the hole-by-hole scores for every player throughout the two days.

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The 37th Annual IHSAA Girls Golf State Finals
The Legends of Indiana Golf Course, 2555 N. Hurricane Road, Franklin, IN, 46131.
Dates: Friday, Oct. 2 (Round One); Saturday, Oct. 3 (Round Two).
Time: 8:30 am ET both days.
Admission: $8 per person per day; $12 per person both days.
About The Course | Driving Directions | Course Statistics | Course Photographs
Advancement from Round One to Round Two: Top nine teams; Any team within 12 strokes of the lead after Round One; Top nine individuals, excluding those individuals who advance with a team plus; Any individual within four strokes of the lead after Round One; Teams tied for ninth place and medalists tied for ninth.
Live Scoring: www.golfstat.com

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Media Information
Media Hosts: Sports Information Director Jason Wille and staff assistant Mike Wilson will be on hand to assist in your coverage.

Media Credentials: To apply, please e-mail your request (with name of individual) no later than 4 pm ET on Wednesday, Sept. 30, to IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille at jwille@ihsaa.org. E-mail requests MUST originate from a recognized business account; e-mails from personal accounts (ie: yahoo.com, aol.com, etc.) will not be accepted. Approved requests will be left for pickup at the team check-in table located between the clubhouse and the cart barn. A limited amount of riding carts will be available to members of the media on a first-come, first-served basis. Your credential is necessary for cart rental. Please check in at the clubhouse for details. Carts will not be issued to the general public.

Services: Working space and wireless access will be available in the cart barn. Please be aware that pool phone service will NOT be provided as in previous years. Copies of the official program including scorecards also will be available along with results from both days of the event. Tee-times and pairings for Saturday’s second round will be posted to the IHSAA website as soon as possible on Friday afternoon/evening. Once again, the IHSAA will post the scorecard of each individual participating in the state finals through www.golfstat.com.

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Notables

Teams Qualified (21)
Carmel, Center Grove, Chesterton, Columbus North, DeKalb, East Noble, Evansville North, Evansville Reitz Memorial, Hamilton Southeastern, Indianapolis Cathedral, Lafayette Jefferson, Martinsville, Noblesville, Penn, Richmond, Roncalli, Shelbyville, Valparaiso, Warsaw, Washington, Western.

Teams Returning from 2008 State Finals (16 of 21)
Carmel, Chesterton, Columbus North, DeKalb, Evansville North, Evansville Reitz Memorial, Hamilton Southeastern, Indianapolis Cathedral, Lafayette Jefferson, Martinsville, Noblesville, Penn, Richmond, Roncalli, Washington, Western.

Individuals Qualified without a Team (22)
Tara Clark (9), Yorktown.
Quincy Cooper (9), Clarksville.
Paige Crafton (10) Bishop Chatard.
Lakin Davis (12) South Ripley.
Brianna Davy (12) Lake Central.
Carlie Gehlhausen (12) Geurin Catholic.
Kayla Katterhenry (9) Castle.
Ashley Kees (12), Carroll (Fort Wayne).
Kylie Kern (11) Kokomo.
Haley King (11) Elkhart Memorial.
Kamryn Klawitter (11), Munster.
Alexis Kotter (10) Vincennes Lincoln.
Brooke McKay (11) Heritage Christian.
Brianna Schneidler (12) Greensburg.
Mackenzie Smith (12) Avon.
Amy Thompson (12) Northwood.
Beth Anne Weiler (12), Bloomington South.
Rachel Welker (10), Terre Haute North.
Anna Wilcoxson (9) South Bend St. Joseph’s.
Kennedy Windlan (9), Yorktown.
Kelli Witt (11) Fishers.
Chanice Young (11) Evansville F.J. Reitz.

Individuals Returning from 2008 Top 25 (11)
1. Trisha Witherby, Richmond, 143.
4. Taylor Gohn, Columbus North, 148.
T7. Brooke Beegle, Hamilton Southeastern, 150.
9. Ashley Kees, Carroll (Fort Wayne), 151.
T13. Anna Gleixner, Roncalli, 153.
T13. Brianna Scheidler, Greensburg, 153.
18. Meghan Potee, Noblesville, 155.
T20. Ari Savich, Carmel, 159.
T20. Deanna Song, Penn, 159.
T22. Lakin Davis, South Ripley, 160.
T25. Vanessa Hanlin, Noblesville, 161.

Most Consecutive State Finals Appearances
12 by Martinsville (1990-2001).

Active Streaks of Consecutive State Finals Appearances (3 or more years)
10: Evansville Memorial.
7: Martinsville.
6: Noblesville.
5: DeKalb, Hamilton Southeastern.
4: Roncalli.
3: Columbus North, Carmel, Richmond, Indianapolis Cathedral.

First-Time Team State Finals Appearances
None.

State Finals Appearance Droughts Broken (10 years or more)
14: Shelbyville (1995).

Former State Champions in the Field
Trisha Witherby (11), Richmond (2008).

Former State Runners-Up in the Field
None.