Swinging into regional: Dragons win another sectional; runner-up Cougars advance

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NEW PALESTINE — It may not have been the start New Palestine was looking for, but the end result was all that mattered.

Despite their top golfer, Annaliese Fox, starting slow on Monday, the Dragons stayed focused in search of their fifth straight sectional golf championship.

Fox bogeyed her first two holes and had a tough front nine. But she, like her teammates, kept her eyes on the sectional title and pushed forward.

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“I didn’t start off very well. I was kind of up and down, had to save myself a couple of times,” Fox said. “I was three-over on the front side, and I was really frustrated at myself. I told myself that the back side was totally different, and I just played outstanding. I was one-under on the back side. I was lights-out.”

She earned medalist honors and her team punched its ticket to Saturday’s Lapel regional by winning the New Palestine Sectional by 15 strokes, with a 363.

Fox led the way with a 74. Izzy Gray shot an 87, Megan Diller and Michaela Purnell shot 101 and Abby Belgin had a 108 for the Dragons.

“What I saw was that they just hung tough all day,” New Palestine coach Sarah O’Brien said. “Every one of them had a bad hole or two, but they came right back. They were in it for the long haul. I’m really proud of them.”

Joining the Dragons this weekend will be Greenfield-Central, who finished in second place with a 378, and Greenwood Community, third with a 380. Mt. Vernon’s Alaina Nugent is one of three golfers who advanced without a team, with an 86.

Finishing second to Fox in the overall standings was Greenfield-Central’s Caroline Gibson, who shot an 82.

That strong performance helped propel her team back to the regional round again.

“With Caroline, she shot her best of the season, probably her best ever in competition, today,” Greenfield-Central coach Russ Wiley said. “The best she’s had is 85 or 86, so to beat it by a few is always great.”

Haley Hoagland followed Gibson with a 92 for the Cougars. Tandess O’Neal added a 99, Rose Gerard a 110 and Phoenix Breese a 112.

“It feels a lot better knowing that my team is going to be there, and not just me,” Gibson said. “I thought going in it was going to be maybe two of us. Having the whole team there is going to really be great.”

The Cougars improved a position from last year’s sectional and leaped Mt. Vernon, who they finished 10 strokes behind at the county tournament a few weeks ago.

They are peaking exactly when they want to, as they have for several years in a row now.

“I always like to be playing our best at the end of the year and we’ve been able to do that a couple of years in a row,” Wiley said. “That’s been nice. It’s a good feeling for us.”

“Our goal at the beginning of the year was to be playing our best golf by sectionals,” Gibson added. “I think I was playing my best golf at sectionals and that was huge for me.”

The Marauders, who weren’t far behind the Dragons at county, finished fifth as a team on Monday with a 395.

Nugent led the way for Mt. Vernon with her 86. Meredith Johnson shot a 90, Ava Hampton a 106, Lily Hampton a 113 and Savannah McKemie a 122 to round out the scoring for the Marauders.

Eastern Hancock finished eighth out of 11 teams, with a 477.

The Royals were led by Jocelyn Duncan’s 103. Right behind her was Shelby Jackson with a 104. Daly Pelger added a 124 and Isabella Parker a 146.

New Palestine, who extended its county and sectional streaks this fall, is hoping to push further than they did a year ago, when Fox made it to state but the team finished seventh at regional.

This Saturday’s regional is at the same course as last year, Edgewood Golf Club in Anderson. The Dragons are looking for improvements across the board from their 377 a year ago.

Making it to state last year individually was great, but Fox was devastated to leave her team behind.

She doesn’t want to repeat that feeling this weekend.

“I’m hoping that we will get out of regional as a team. That’s my hope,” Fox said. “I really hope we play our best at Lapel. I have a really good feeling that if we play our ‘A’ game, we have a really good chance of getting out, which is exciting.”

The competition ramps up significantly at the Lapel Regional, as it does every year. This year’s field includes several Top 20 teams, including Columbus North, Hamilton Southeastern and Richmond.

New Palestine is riding the momentum of another successful season and another sectional title, ready to face the tough task of making it to state out of a strong regional.

“Certainly it builds confidence to win,” O’Brien said. “We know the competition gets extremely tough in regional. It’s crazy tough in the regional. My goal is going to be that we have our best score of the year.”

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Team Scores (top three advance): New Palestine 363, Greenfield-Central 378, Greenwood 380, Pendleton Heights 384, Mt. Vernon 395, Triton Central 401, Shelbyville 429, Eastern Hancock 477, Knightstown 480, Southwestern (Shelbyville) 493, Greenwood Christian inc.

Individuals Advancing Without a Team: Elizabeth Kemper (TC) 83, Ashytn Witte (GCA) 85, Alaina Nugent (MV) 86

Top Five Individuals: Annaliese Fox (NP) 74, Caroline Gibson (G-C) 82, Elizabeth Kemper (TC) 83, Ashtyn Witte (GCA) 85, Macae Terhune (G) 86

Eastern Hancock: Jocelyn Duncan 103, Shelby Jackson 104, Daly Pelger 124, Isabella Parker 146

Greenfield-Central: Caroline Gibson 82, Haley Hoagland 92, Tandess O’Neal 99, Rose Gerard 110, Phoenix Breese 112 

Mt. Vernon: Alaina Nugent 86, Meredith Johnson 90, Ava Hampton 106, Lily Hampton 113, Savannah McKemie 122

New Palestine: Annaliese Fox 74, Izzy Gray 87, Megan Diller 101, Michaela Purnell 101, Abby Belgin 108

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