WIAA State Girls Golf Championships Preview
Wednesday, October 9th, 2019 -- 1:27 PM
The 48th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls State Golf Championships will be held Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 14-15, at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison..Competition will begin at 8 a.m. on both days.
The competition features a two division format with 12 teams and an additional 18 individual qualifiers competing in Division 1, and six teams and an additional nine individual qualifiers participating in Division 2. Competitors play 36 holes, weather permitting, including 18 holes on each day. The lowest scores from the first day will have the later tee times Tuesday.
LAST YEAR: Kettle Moraine captured the Division 1 State team title for the first time in program history with a 36-hole score of 651. Middleton was runner-up at 659, and former defending champion Arrowhead was third at 669. Jo Baranczyk of Bay Port was the individual medalist with a score of 142. Emily Lauterbach of Arrowhead, who was the 2016 medalist, finished second with a score of 143. Edgewood won its 14th State team title by capturing the Division 2 crown, finishing with a score of 659. Xavier placed second with a score of 719. Clair Phakamad of Xavier won individual medalist honors by shooting a 152. Annie Balduzzi of Aquinas placed second with a 154.
TEAMS COMPETING THIS YEAR: The schools qualifying for the State meet in Division 1 are Arrowhead, Bay Port, Brookfield Central, Cedarburg, Green Bay Preble/East/Southwest/West, Kettle Moraine, Middleton, Sheboygan North/South, Stevens Point, Tomah, Union Grove and Waunakee. The team qualifiers in Division 2 are Edgewood, Osseo-Fairchild/Fall Creek, Prescott, St. Croix Central, Wrightstown and Xavier.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 1: Junior Jo Baranczyk of Bay Port looks to repeat as medalist after winning the State title last year. She also qualified as a freshman in 2017 and placed fifth. Senior Rachel Kauflin of Wauwatosa East/West finished third last season and is back for another run at the title. Junior Caylie Kotlowski of Stoughton qualifies for the State Tournament for the second straight season after placing fourth a year ago. Senior Katherine Meier of Middleton may also be in the hunt for the individual title after placing fifth last season. Senior Holly Murphy of Badger, who finished in 10th place last season after placing tied for eighth in 2017, could also compete for the individual championship. Among the sectional champions competing to be in the mix for medalist honors, other than Kotlowski and Murphy, are senior Sami Krutz of Brookfield Central, who placed tied for 14th last year; senior Sadie Kelley of Pulaski, junior Elise Hoven of Cedarburg and freshman Brin Neumann of Tomah.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 2: Four of the top seven finishers from a year ago return to contend for the individual championship, including three Edgewood golfers. Senior Grace Welch of Edgewood should be considered one of the favorites to win the title after tying for third last season, which followed a fifth-place finish in 2017 and a third-place standing in 2016. Welch’s teammates, juniors Grace Jaeger and Caitlyn Hegenbarth, should also contend for medalist honors. Jaeger tied Welch for third a year ago after placing 15th in 2017. Hegenbarth finished fifth last year and 10th in 2017. Senior Kiernan Smith of Northwestern returns in pursuit of the title after finishing seventh in 2018. Other qualifiers that could contend for the title based on their sectional championship performances other than Welch are freshman Ava Salay of Prescott and sophomore Callie Berg of Freedom.
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