ANDERSON — For the second straight year, things came down to the wire for the Columbus North girls golf team at the Lapel Regional.
The scorecards showed Hamilton Southeastern’s score of 337 as the lowest team score for a few hours. Then, Richmond’s score of 336 came in to set a new standard.
As one of the final teams to finish, the fifth-ranked Bull Dogs didn’t know until near the end of a long, cold day what their team score was and where they’d place.
When scorekeepers put Nathaly Munnicha’s 76 on the board, North found out that its combined score of 333 was good enough for a win Saturday at Edgewood Golf Course in Anderson.
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It was the second regional title in the past three years for North.
“I’m happy to get a win,” North coach Scott Seavers said. “Anytime you can win a regional, it’s a good thing. We’re very fortunate.”
Led by sophomore Nathaly Munnicha, who finished third individually, and her sister, senior Alex Munnicha, who shot a 79, the Bull Dogs were able to pick up another title after finishing a stroke behind Fishers in 2017.
“I’m excited. I’m really excited,” Nathaly Munnicha said. “I’m proud that we won regional. Last year, we were really close, but this year, we did it, and I’m really proud of the team.”
Annie Anderson and Yestika Nischol each shot 89 for North, and Ella Wilks rounded out the scoring with a 91.
But it was the Munnicha sisters that helped the team get through a rough start to the day.
“They’ve been around. They know how to play and know how to compete, and they carried us today,” Seavers said. “We got out to a pretty bad start. We had some big numbers. Thankfully, we steadied the ship, hung in there and grinded it out.”
No. 19 Richmond and No. 11 Hamilton Southeastern joined the Bull Dogs in advancing to state. Columbus East finished 18th with a team score of 395.
The Olympians were led by Ellie Buntin’s 97. Kati Brunn and Harley Gant each shot 98, Peyton Meier added a 102 and Lauren Steinwedel finished with a 104.
For the fifth straight year, North is heading to the state finals. Last year, the team went into state ranked No. 3, but had a tough first round on the way to finishing fourth overall.
This year, the Bull Dogs head into the last tournament for Alex Munnicha, making this a special finale for her younger sister.
“Next week, I’m guessing is going to be her last competitive tournament, because she’s not going to play in college,” Nathaly Munnicha said. “I’m getting to play out there, to represent my team, and I’m excited for that.”
Their coach said the team is going to stay the course and keep practicing on areas where they struggled Saturday.
The team’s mindset will be focused internally Friday and Saturday, according to North’s low-scorer in both last week’s Greensburg Sectional and Saturday’s regional.
“Just play your own game. Don’t worry about anyone else,” Nathaly Munnicha said. “Just keep going, one shot at a time. Don’t worry about what those other people are doing. There’s going to be a lot of good competitors out there. We’re just going to play our golf.”
