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Top-ranked Yorktown won its first regional championship on Saturday and will lead a field of 15 teams into the 40th Annual IHSAA Girls Golf State Finals at The Legends Golf Club in Franklin this weekend.

A new format is in effect for this year’s state finals as all competitors will play 36 holes over the two-day event with no cut after the first day as in previous years. A total of 15 teams have advanced five golfers each and 25 individuals have moved on without their squads for a total of 100 participants representing 39 different schools. Groups will be teeing off the Middle 9 course and the Road 9 course at 8:30 am ET / 7:30 am CT on Friday. The first round tee times and pairings are available here.

The Tigers easily won their sectional two weeks ago and followed up with another great performance at the regional held at Westwood Golf Club in New Castle topping No. 2 Noblesville and No. 3 Hamilton Southeastern. Kennedy Windlan won medalist honors at the regional with her 68 as Yorktown sets its sights on its first girls golf championship since 1976, the fourth year of the tournament. A state title also would be Yorktown’s second in 11 months following the volleyball team’s 3A title last November and its fifth overall.

Last year’s winning team, Hamilton Southeastern placed as the runner-up to Yorktown at the regional and expects to be in the hunt for its third consecutive team title and fourth in five years. Noblesville qualified for its ninth consecutive appearance and will be aiming for its third girls crown (1986, 1987).

Chesterton’s Kelly Grassel returns as the defending state champion and leads a pack of eight returnees from last year’s top 10 finishers. Grassel won the sectional tournament in a playoff and placed third at the regional and is leading the Trojans to their fifth consecutive appearance at The Legends.

Another individual to keep an eye on is East Noble’s Katherine (Katie) Sharp. The 2010 state runner-up had the best round of the entire tournament with a 65 during sectional play at Noble Hawk then followed with a 71 at Cobblestone on Monday.

Also of note is Rochester which will have a team competing in the state finals for the first time. The unranked Zebras placed second at the regional held at Cobblestone last weekend.

Greenwood’s nine year drought (2003) between trips to the state finals ended with its third place finish at Smock Golf Course, the longest span between this year’s teams with multiple visits.

All are invited to view the progress of the state finals by visiting Golfstat.com. The IHSAA will post the hole-by-hole scores for every player throughout the two days.

State Finals
The Legends Golf Club, 2555 N. Hurricane Road, Franklin, IN, 46131. | Website
Round 1: Friday, September 28, 2012, 8:30 am ET / 7:30 am CT.
Round 2: Saturday, September 29, 2012, 8:30 am ET / 7:30 am CT.
Admission: $12 per person (ticket good for both days).
Advancement (New for 2012): All teams and individuals will play 36 holes.
Feeder Regionals: East Noble, Evansville North, Roncalli, Lafayette Jefferson, New Castle.
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
Friday Tee Times & Pairings | State Tournament Information

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: The 2012-13 IHSAA State Finals Media Credential will allow for admission. To apply, please e-mail your request (with name of individual) as soon as possible 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. Deadline is Wednesday, September 26, at 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT. 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.

Services: Working space with electrical power and wireless access will be available in the cart barn. 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 following completion of the first round.

Notables

Teams Qualified (15) *indicates regional champion.
Carmel*, Castle, Chesterton, Evansville North, Greenwood, Hamilton Southeastern, Jasper*, Lafayette Jefferson*, Marion, Noblesville, Penn*, Rochester, Valparaiso, Yorktown*, Zionsville.

Teams Returning from 2011 State Finals (12 of 21)
Carmel, Castle, Chesterton, Evansville North, Hamilton Southeastern, Jasper, Lafayette Jefferson, Noblesville, Penn, Valparaiso, Yorktown, Zionsville.

Top 20 Coaches Poll (End of regular season) from Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association
1. Yorktown.
2. Noblesville.
3. Hamilton Southeastern.
4. Penn.
5. Carmel.
6. Chesterton.
7. Bloomington South.
8. Jasper.
9. Valparaiso.
10. Lafayette Jefferson.
11. Center Grove.
12. Zionsville.
13. Castle.
14. Evansville North.
15. Marion.
16. Columbus North.
17. Columbus East.
18. Roncalli.
19. Whiteland.
20. Northwestern.
Honorable mention: Crown Point, Western.

Individuals Qualified without a Team (25)
Sydney Anderson, Columbus North.
Morgan Brown, Lafayette Central Catholic.
Lindsey Budnik, Manchester.
Chrislyn Church, Monrovia.
Tiffany Curtis, Crown Point.
Amanda Detmer, Madison.
Emma Fisher, Bloomington South.
Abbey Gleixner, Roncalli.
Melissa Greener, Fort Wayne Concordia.
Eliza Hudson, Floyd Central.
Erin Ingram, Richmond.
Kiana Jongsma, Lake Central.
Karli LaGrotte, Indianapolis Cathedral.
Allison Lindley, Western.
Maureen Miller, Union County.
Morgan Nadaline, Anderson.
Cherise Otter, Bloomington South.
Katherine Sharp, East Noble.
Mary Shipley, Fairfield.
Kylie Shoemake, Lake Central.
Sydney Shrum, Cloverdale.
Emily Tilton, Pendleton Heights.
Alexa West, Whiteland.
Anna Wilcoxson, South Bend St. Joseph.
Taylor Wilson, Martinsville.

Individuals Returning from 2011 Top 10 (8)
1. Kelly Grassel, Chesterton.
3. Kayla Katterhenry, Castle.
T4. Amanda Detmer, Madison.
T6. Morgan Nadaline, Anderson.
T6. Abbey Gleixner, Roncalli.
T6. Kari Bellville, Penn.
T9. Harley Dubsky, Valparaiso.
T9. Heather Hayes, Noblesville.

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

Active Streaks of Consecutive State Finals Team Appearances (3 or more years)
9: Noblesville.
8: Hamilton Southeastern.
6: Carmel.
5: Chesterton, Lafayette Jefferson, Penn.
4: Valparaiso.
3: Jasper, Zionsville.

First-Time Team State Finals Appearances
Rochester.

State Finals Appearance Droughts Broken
9 years: Greenwood (2003).

Former State Champions in the Field
Kelly Grassel, Chesterton (2011).

Former State Runners-Up in the Field
Katherine Sharp, East Noble (2010).

First-Time Regional Champions in the Field
Yorktown.

Regional Championship Droughts Broken
10 years: Lafayette Jefferson (2002).

Best Scores in 2012 State Tournament (Among State Finalists)
295: Noblesville (sectional).
303: Yorktown (sectional).

Best Scores in 2012 State Tournament (Among State Finalists)
65: Katherine Sharp, East Noble (sectional).
68: Kennedy Windlan, Yorktown (regional).
69: Amanda Detmer, Madison (regional).
70: Allison Lindley, Western (sectional).
71: Katherine Sharp, East Noble (regional).

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About the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA)
Founded in 1903, the purpose of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA) is to encourage, regulate and give direction to wholesome amateur interschool athletic competition between its 408 member schools. The Association provides state championship tournament series in 20 sports, 10 for girls and 10 for boys. Approximately 160,000 student athletes participate in IHSAA sports on an annual basis.