Girls golf teams shooting for state berths

Of the six local schools that fielded girls golf teams this fall, four are still alive in the postseason.

Those four teams will play in three separate regionals on Saturday. Columbus North and Columbus East will play in the Lapel Regional at Edgewood Golf Club in Anderson, Jennings County will be in the Roncalli Regional at Smock Golf Course in Indianapolis and Brown County will play in the Washington Regional at Country Oaks in Montgomery.

North is a favorite to win its second regional title in the past three years and return to state for a fifth consecutive season. The top three teams in each regional qualify for the Sept. 28-29 state finals at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.

“I think it’s very possible,” North coach Scott Seavers said. “If we play the way we’re capable of playing, we can win a regional title. That was one of our goals at the beginning of the season — to win a sectional and a regional title and qualify for the state tournament. But we have to play a little better than we did last week.”

The fifth-ranked Bull Dogs, led by sophomore Nathaly Munnicha’s medalist round of 75, won the Greensburg Sectional with a 322. Senior Alex Munnicha and junior Annie Anderson each shot 79.

The other ranked teams in the regional field, No. 11 Hamilton Southeastern won the Noblesville Sectional with a 334, and No. 19 Richmond won the Richmond Sectional with a 336. Greensburg also carded a 336 in finishing runner-up to North in the Greensburg Sectional.

“I do believe Hamilton Southeastern is our biggest challenger,” Seavers said. “Greensburg is a good team, and they’re capable of giving us a challenge, as they did in the sectional. If we do what we’re capable of, we don’t have to worry about what other teams are doing.”

East finished third at Greensburg with a 388. Senior Kati Brunn led the Olympians with a 90.

“For Peyton (Meier) and Harley (Gant), it’s another opportunity to play, and another week of practice,” East coach Troy Buntin said. “My two seniors (Brunn and Ellie Buntin), I want to finish on a high note, and Lauren (Steinwedel) has been up and down all year, and I want her to finish on a high note. I’m not really concerned with where we finish compared to the rest of the field. This is just gravy. We just want to go there and do our best and relax and play golf.”

Meanwhile, two other area teams will be longshots to qualify for state, but like East, will look to finish on a high note. Jennings, which won the Madison Sectional with a 402, faces a tough challenge in the loaded Roncalli Regional, which features five of the state’s top 10 teams.

No. 1 Zionsville fired a 289, and No. 10 Brownsburg shot 312 in the Brownsburg Sectional. No. 4 Carmel (288), No. 6 Guerin Catholic (300) and No. 7 Westfield (305) came out of the Ben Davis Sectional. No. 17 Center Grove and No. 20 Franklin each shot 338 in the Whiteland Sectional

“This whole season has been about them having fun, and I’m encouraging them to go up and do the same thing,” Jennings coach BJ Bingham said. “Nobody expects us to win. Nobody expects us to get out. They don’t have anything to lose and everything to gain, and I think that’s the way they need to look at it.”

Brown County will make its first regional appearance as a team after finishing third with a 392 in the Bloomington North Sectional. No. 18 Martinsville won that sectional with a 314.

Also in the Washington Regional will be No. 2 Evansville North, which won the Evansville Memorial Sectional with a 288, and No. 14 Bedford North Lawrence, which won its own sectional with a 322.

“Team-wise, we know were in the bottom third of teams coming in there, so there aren’t going to be a whole lot of expectations on us, but I’d like to think we’re capable of beating some of those teams,” Brown County coach Brad Baughman said.

Senior Ashley Masteller is familiar with Country Oaks. She shot an 86 there two years ago in the regional, when she had qualified as an individual.

The top five individuals on non-advancing teams qualify for state.

“Ashley knows she’s really going to have to play the round of her life to advance,” Baughman said. “She has the game. She can do it. She’s been under 80 before, so for her, every shot counts. You can’t have any big numbers, and those 4- and 5-foot putts she’s been having trouble with, she needs to knock in.”

Teams avoid rare double-loss

When Columbus East denied a New Albany 2-point conversion attempt in the closing minutes Friday night, the Olympians helped avoid something that has not happened in nearly eight years.

Not since Oct. 29, 2010, had both East and Columbus North had lost a football game on the same day. That night, the Olympians fell to Whiteland 59-22, and the Bull Dogs lost to Bloomington North 45-35 in sectional action.

The last time both East and North lost a regular-season game on the same night was nearly 16 years ago, on Sept. 27, 2002. The Olympians fell to Floyd Central 18-12, and the Bull Dogs lost to Franklin Central 16-13.

East escaped with a 20-19 win Friday at New Albany, while North fell 17-10 at Guerin Catholic.

Tournament draws upcoming

The IHSAA boys and girls soccer tournament pairings will take place on Sunday and will air at 7 p.m. on ihsaatv.org.

Boys tennis pairings will air at 7 p.m. Monday. Volleyball pairings will be at 7 p.m. Sept. 30, and football pairings will be Oct. 7 at a time to be determined.

All of those pairings shows will air on ihsaatv.org.