The weather was lousy, but it didn’t bother Shelby freshman Alexis Jones.
The 14-year-old Jones, who won the Tri-County Women’s Championship (formerly the Richland County Women’s Championship) by a whopping 18 strokes in late July, tuned up for today’s Division II sectional tournament by firing a 1-under 70 at the North Central Ohio Girls Golf League Championship at Brookside Golf Course on Saturday.
The Whippets finished behind three-time defending champion Ashland in the team standings. The Arrows carded a 350 for the 16 shot win over Shelby (366). Norwalk (390) was third while Lexington (397) was fourth.
Mansfield Senior (408), Bellevue (414), Clear Fork (434) and Madison (439) rounded out the field.
“The playing conditions were really difficult,” Mansfield Senior coach Adam Galley said. “There was a constant rain for the first two hours. It was a rough day, but I was pleased with the way our girls played.
“We didn’t have our best day, but it wasn’t our worst day, either.”
The tournament doubled as the Ohio Cardinal Conference tournament. OCC administrators recently approved girls golf as a league sport and all five conference schools that have girls teams were in attendance Saturday.
“It was kind of like two separate tournaments, the NCOGGL and the OCC,” Galley said. “Of the five OCC teams there, we finished second. We had five girls playing and three of them earned all-conference honors.”
Senior High’s Morgan Adkins (95) and Sammie Lehman (97) were second team OCC picks, while Ava Lang (102) was a third team selection. Tobie Zeller (114) and Mackenzie Braden (127) also scored for the Tygers.
Like Mansfield Senior, Lexington had a trio of all conference selections. Alex Sazdanoff (91) was a first team pick and Abby Conover (100) and Natasha Mack (100) were third team selections. Jen Stoker (106), Allison Bye (109) and Sophie Plew (118) also were in action for Lady Lex.
Maria Zaller led Clear Fork with a 100, good for a spot on the OCC third team. Kelsey Carver had a 105 and Hannah McCartney had a 111. Caitlyn McCartney had a 118, while Blaine Scharver had a 124 and Felecia York had a 125.
“My number one, two and three girls played decent considering the conditions,” Clear Fork coach Ashley Twedt said. “Their nine hole scores were a little higher than their averages but that was to be expected.”
Jenna Messner led Madison with a 106, followed by Tori Warren (107). Sierra Johnson had a 112, while Alexis Shull had a 114. Alexis Arnold (123) and Alyson Holzworth (125) rounded out the scoring for the Rams.
Morgan and Rachel Brumenschenkel both shot 96 for the Whippets. Chelsea Ridenour had a 104, while Annie Williams carded a 126 and Kristian McLaughlin shot a 134.
Shelby, Lexington and Clear Fork will be at Galion’s Valley View Golf Course today for the Division II sectional tournament. The top three teams and top three individuals will advance to district play.
“With the sectional coming up, playing against good competition at Brookside was great preparation for us,” Twedt said. “It was good for the girls to play in the rain because you never know what you are going to encounter in the tournament. When I played in high school, we had snow flurries in the sectional. I told the girls Saturday, ‘It could be worse.’
“Our girls know the course over at Valley View. It’s close enough that several of them have been able to go play some practice rounds there. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we can get somebody out of the sectional and on to the district tournament.”
Mansfield Senior and Madison will compete in the Division I sectional Oct. 2 at Sycamore Springs Golf Course in Arlington.
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.