CARMEL — After all the ups and downs the fifth-ranked Columbus North girls experienced during the two days of the Girls Golf State Finals, the Bull Dogs settled for a seventh-place finish.
The Bull Dogs carded a 342 on Saturday at Prairie View Golf Club. Coupled with their 340 in Friday’s opening round, they finished at 682, one shot behind sixth-place Lafayette Jeff.
“Overall, I think we played OK, but we just had too many big holes,” North coach Scott Seavers said. “I’m not disappointed in what we accomplished this year. We accomplished a lot with a sectional and regional championship. You have to also keep in mind that we are a really young team with only one senior. We have a lot to look forward to, so we will learn from it and hopefully get a chance to come back next year and do better.”
The Bull Dogs did not finish the way they had hoped, but they necessary didn’t come away empty handed. North sophomore Nathaly Munnicha was named to the All-State team.
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The top 10 finishers at the state finals and then 10 more individuals are selected based on overall performance all season.
“It’s great, and I really wasn’t expecting it,” Munnicha said. “I knew that coach put me in, but there were a lot of great players, so I really wasn’t expecting it and it was really nice to make it.”
Munnicha shot a 78 in her final round on Saturday, giving her a two day total of 158 to place her 22nd individually.
“It wasn’t my greatest performance today. I finished strong and improved on my second day,” Munnicha said. “Overall, I had fun.”
Her sister, North senior Alex Munnicha finished with a round of 82 on Saturday for a two-day total of 163 to tie for 29th individually. Earlier in the week, she was announced to the girls golf Academic All-State team.
It also was bittersweet for Alex, who was playing her final round as a Bull Dog.
“The first day (Friday) felt like any other tournament I played, but today it felt like my final,” she said. “Everyone was coming up and giving me a hug and saying things like, ‘I’m sad it’s your last round, and hope to see you again.’ That really got to me, but it was all good.”
Seavers appreciated the contributions that Alex made for the program during her four years on the team.
“She is a great representative of our golf program and for Columbus North,” Seavers said. “She’s a fabulous student, and she’s a very good golfer. I’m so happy for her. The future is so bright. She is someone that can do anything that she sets her mind to. I’ll going to miss her, and we’re all going to miss her.”
Annie Anderson carded an 88 to finish with a two-day total of 175. Yestika Nischol shot a 94 to finish with a 186. Ella Wilks also shot a 94 to finish with a 192.
No. 2 Evansville North won the state championship with a 605, seven shots better than No. 1 Zionsville. Westfield’s Jocelyn Bruch won medalist honors with a 1-under-par 143.
The future of the program the next few years is positive with four of the five starters on the state finals team coming back.
“We hope to come back next year, but we don’t take it for granted,” Seavers said. “We have a lot of work to do over the summer to get ready for next year, and hopefully, we’ll be back and ready to go at it again.”
