CARMEL — They were hoping to play better in their final match, but the New Palestine Dragons achieved all they had hoped for in the 2023 girls golf season.
Qualifiers for the IHSAA Girls Golf State Finals for the first time since 2014, the Dragons finished 15th after Saturday’s second and final round at Prairie View Golf Club.
The Dragons were 17th after Friday’s opening round. They had a final score of 757, carding a 374 Saturday, nine strokes lower than Friday’s round.
Two grinding, grueling, mentally, physically draining days,” New Palestine coach Sarah O’Brien said. “(The course is) set up tough and it was tough, but it’s an amazing experience.”
On Saturday, freshman Lauren Deering and sophomore Katie Kelley both took 10 or more strokes off their Friday rounds. Deering led New Palestine in the individual standings, tying for 62nd with a 176. She shot an 81 on Saturday, 14 strokes better than her first 18. Kelley had an 86 Saturday, 10 shots lower than Friday. She had a 182 and finished in 75th.
There were 18 full teams and 105 total golfers in the tournament.
“Friday, they honestly played pretty decently, other than everyone of them made a couple of big numbers on their scorecards,” O’Brien said. “(Saturday), Lauren Deering played well and Katie Kelley played well. The other three just kind of struggled. It wasn’t just big numbers, they just couldn’t quite get it going. Maybe a three-putt here, a lot of double bogeys just added up. It’s a tough course, but overall, I think they handled it really well.
“All of them wanted to play better, score better than they did (Friday). That happened for Lauren and Katie. They were thrilled that we did pick up a couple of spots. That was our goal. The team score, we wanted it to be lower so we did what we wanted to do today.”
Carmel won the tournament with a two-day total of 608. Westfield was second with a 617 and had the individual medalist in Samantha Watson who shot a 2-under-par 142. She was four-under-par (68) after the opening round.
New Palestine junior Lily Kirchner finished 94th (94-105) with a 199. Senior Lauren Appleby was right behind her tied for 95th (98-102) with a 200. Senior Hanna Beller finished tied for 101st (101-112) with a 213.
“Both of the seniors, I am absolutely thrilled that this got to be their last experience, but playing this course was a bit of a tough way out,” O’Brien said. “It wasn’t the way they hoped to play in their final round as high school seniors, but they were all tickled to be there and really enjoyed the experience, absolutely.
“Both of them worked so hard in the offseason wanting to be part of what happened this year. They wanted to be in that lineup and they stepped up as leaders.”
It was a special season for the entire program. Though they would have preferred a better score in the state finals, the team achieved a lot in 2023.
New Palestine won the Hancock County tournament, Hoosier Heritage Conference championship and the New Palestine Sectional. Plus, they qualified for the state meet as a team for the first time in nine years.
“We usually sit down at the beginning of the season and talk about goals and they hit every one of them,” O’Brien said. “They absolutely nailed every single one of them. They fought through it all, good days and bad days, really amazing.
“It’s truly been so much fun. These girls are fun. Their parents are great. I’ve got 14 girls on the team. Every one of them, love them to pieces and their parents are fabulous. We had so much support. It’s been great.”
