COLUMBUS
Greenfield-Central freshman Haley Hoagland competed in her first high school girls golf competition in Thursday’s three way match with Columbus East and Whiteland at Otter Creek.
Not only did Hoagland birdie her first hole to start off her high school career, but her score of 48 led the Cougars.
Greenfield-Central ended with a team score of 227 to finish third. East edged Whiteland 205-206 to take the victory.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“The first match is kind of nerve wracking,” Hoagland said. “But it was good. When you do good your first hole, it’s kind of a confidence booster. Doing good your first hole makes a difference.”
Bri Harwell of Whiteland earned medalist honors by shooting a 42.
Cougar golfer Lindsay McCord missed the first match to attend her sister’s wedding in Ireland, so the Cougars had to go with two freshman. Freshman Caroline Gibson carded a 61.
Rose Gerard had Greenfield’s second-best score with a 53. Phoenix Breese finished with a 65.
Coach Russell Wiley said it was a rough day for the Cougars and said he is expecting the team to get better as the season progresses.
“I’d much rather have things that we need to work and try to get better throughout the year than to come out here and everybody shoots their best score, then it’s all down hill,” Wiley said.
Wiley said the team has have been working on its short game, and he was pleased with how they shot. He thinks Otter Creek is one of the top three courses that his team will play all year and is glad it got to compete on it early.
