GREENFIELD — The six-plus weeks leading up to Monday’s girls golf sectional tournament were a slow buildup for the Greenfield-Central Cougars.
Chasing a number they hadn’t yet reached, the Cougars were fixated on 348 — their 2019 regional tournament total — ever since the season opened in early August.
The Greenfield-Central girls golf team beat the mark to win the Hoosier Heritage Conference team championship with a 344 on Saturday, Sept. 12, which set a new school record for 18 holes.
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But, they weren’t done. Not even close.
“I say it every year, and I kind of sound repetitive, but that’s always the goal. No matter what sport you play, that’s always your goal, to be playing your best at the end of the season,” Greenfield-Central senior Caroline Gibson said.
For their sectional title defense at Hawk’s Tail of Greenfield, the Cougars turned in their best score to date with another school-record performance, shooting a 340 to set a new watermark and capture the program’s second straight championship.
“That is a lot better from where we started the year, and that’s what we wanted to do,” Cougars head coach Russ Wiley said. “We caught up to ourselves from last year.”
The Cougars awoke the program’s past in the process, repeating for the first time since Greenfield-Central won four consecutive sectional titles from 1988-1991.
Greenfield-Central shaved 25 strokes off their sectional-winning score of 365 from 2019 en route to the program’s 11th title all-time, which was more than enough to best sectional runner-up Mt. Vernon (366) and third-place New Palestine (413).
Greenwood finished fourth at 423 with the top-three sectional teams and individuals without a qualifying team advancing into the regional tournament.
All three teams will compete in Saturday’s Lapel Regional at Edgewood Golf Club along with Eastern Hancock’s Haleigh Cavaletto, who carded a 95 as the sectional’s second-best individual advancing competitor.
“I’m really excited about that. I’m really happy for all of our county schools,” New Palestine head coach Sarah O’Brien said. “We’re all going to represent. That’s exciting.”
The Cougars are eager to see where their scores can go from here.
Gibson shot a 78 to earn sectional medalist honors, while Haley Hoagland and Tandess O’Neal both fired personal bests at 83 and 86, respectively.
The Cougars’ duo placed third and fifth individually, while Greenwood’s Maura Guilfoy had an 82 for second overall.
Mt. Vernon’s Alaina Nugent shot an 84 for fourth, followed by Meredith Johnson at 94 and Mackenzie Miner at 96. Marauders senior Emily Rollo had a 92.
New Palestine’s Zoe Nelson posted a team-leading 98 ahead of senor Megan Diller’s 99. Michaela Purnell added a 105, Hannah Beller finished with a 111 and senior Abby Belgin had a 116.
“We didn’t play very well today, and I had my eye on Greenwood as the team we needed to beat to get there, and, even though it wasn’t a great day for us, it was enough,” O’Brien said. “We’re excited. Our goal is to go there Saturday and have fun. Try to play our best round, but have fun.”
The Cougars are eyeing more this postseason as their scores continue to tumble at the right time.
“Last year, I don’t think we expected to win. We kind of went out there and thought, ‘Well, New Pal is probably going to win.’ Then, we won,” Gibson said. “This year, we thought we could win, but I wanted to remind the girls that we can’t just go out there and think it will be handed to us.”
The Cougars left nothing to chance.
Sydnie Wherry provided a solid 93, and Katie Curry came in at 100 to put Greenfield-Central in position to win.
Gibson, a state qualifier in 2019, set the pace with nine pars and three birdies on the 7th, 13th and 14th holes. She had five bogeys, including a a pair of double-bogeys, but she recovered to nearly match her sectional score from last year (74).
“There were definitely some shots that I left out there. I know everyone would say that, but I don’t think I converted well on the greens, so that’s one thing I’ll be working on a lot this week. Just putting,” Gibson said. “I had a lot of opportunities out there and just didn’t convert.”
Gibson admitted her outing was partially impacted by the moment, playing her final competitive round on her team’s home course.
“I noticed it on No. 1 when I first teed off, but I didn’t think about it until the end on 18 on my last putt. I kind of got the chills and almost teared up a little bit,” Gibson said. “This has been my home course for six years, so I’ve always been out here. Worked here and played here. It’s home.”
Playing in the same group as Mt. Vernon’s Nugent helped her focus, Gibson remarked, as she pursued her first-career sectional medalist honor.
“Me and her were pretty competitive towards each other, which is good. We make each other better, I think,” Gibson said. “I was focused the whole front nine. I double-bogeyed nine, so I was off focus going into 10 and 11, but on 12, I had to pick it back up and from there I started playing better.”
She wasn’t alone either.
Hoagland’s sectional score was a 15-stroke improvement from a year ago, while O’Neal’s tally chipped away five swings.
“Caroline was probably a little higher than what she wanted, but Haley had her best of the year, and so did Tandess,” Wiley said. “I think the last four years, we’ve had our best score at the regional, so hopefully that tradition continues after today.”
Shelbyville’s Karaline Richards was the third individual to advance without a qualifying team. She defeated Greenwood Christian Academy’s Ashtyn Witte in a playoff hole after they both tied at 97.
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2020 New Palestine Girls Golf Sectional
Team Scores: Greenfield-Central 340, Mt. Vernon 366, New Palestine 413, Greenwood 423, Shelbyville 437, Southwestern 437, Greenwood Christian Academy 449, Triton Central 484, Morristown 488, Eastern Hancock 492.
Medalist: Caroline Gibson, Greenfield-Central (78)
Top-Five Individuals: Caroline Gibson, GC (78); Maura Guilfoy, GW (82); Haley Hoagland, GC (83); Alaina Nugent, MV (84); Tandess O’Neal, GC (86).
Individuals Advancing Without a Team: Maura Guilfoy, GW (82); Haleigh Cavaletto, EH (95); Karaline Richards, SHS (97).
Individual Scores (Hancock County teams)
Greenfield-Central: Caroline Gibson 78, Haley Hoagland 83, Tandess O’Neal 86, Sydnie Wherry 93, Katie Curry 100.
Mt. Vernon: Alaina Nugent 84, Emily Rollo 92, Meredith Johnson 94, Mackenzie Miner 96, Haidyn Cauldwell 120.
New Palestine: Zoe Nelson 98, Megan Diller 99, Michaela Purnell 105, Hannah Beller 111, Abby Belgin 116.
Eastern Hancock: Haleigh Cavaletto 95, Inez Friddle 117, Mallory Bolding 136, Emily Grant 144.
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