Huron, Margaretta taking teams to Division II girls golf district

Huron girls golf coach Jeff Hippely gave his team a pep talk as the Tigers headed out on the back nine at a Division II sectional Wednesday at Valley View Golf Course. Whatever he said helped. Huron, as a team, improved by 20 strokes on the back nine at the course near Galion to finish at 406 and grab the third and final district qualifying spot. "They all picked it up on the back nine," Hippely said. "When I talked to them I told them they were solidly in third place. They responded." At the same course, Edison sophomore Annabelle Seville shot an 84 to finish third overall and earn a district berth as an individual. At Fostoria Country Club, Margaretta finished in second place at 376 to earn a Division II district berth. Port Clinton's Lillie Fox shot a 92 to move on as an individual. For Huron, sophomore Ashtyn Spooner led the way with a 93, good for eighth place overall. That included a 43 on the back nine. "I was nervous after the front," Spooner said. "I took a break, got a water, got a snack and refocused." The other three scorers for Huron were all seniors: Teagan Miller (102), Gabby Bricker (104) and Samantha Laffay (107). "We're super excited," Spooner said. "We wanted to play really good for the seniors and make it out of here." Huron finished 16 strokes ahead of fourth-place Clear Fork (422). Colonel Crawford finished first with a 382 and Wynford was runner-up with a 384. Seville also got it going on the back nine to grab one of three individual spots at the district tourney next Tuesday at Sycamore Springs in Findlay. Seville had a 9 on the par-5 fifth hole and shot 47 on the front. She started the back nine with a birdie on No. 10 and closed out with a stellar 37. "I got on the bogey train. I stopped stressing about it (on the back) and played like I usually play," Seville said. She hit a 5-iron off the tee on the 265-yard 10th hole. She hit an 8-iron to about five feet and sank a clutch birdie putt. "That made me lock in," Seville said. Edison coach Shayne Fischer said Seville was questioning herself after the front nine, but reminded her that she played well on the back during a practice round. "After the front she said, 'I don't think I'm going to make it,' " Fischer said. "I told her she got the side she likes. She shot 38 or 39 (on the back) in a practice round." Seville, who was a member of the Chargers' sectional team champion last year, carded five straight pars to punch her district ticket. Mansfield St. Peter's Joy Kim earned medalist honors with an 82. PC's Fox had three pars and three bogeys over the last six holes to clinch the third individual district slot. Margaretta had four golfers break 100 at soggy Fostoria CC. Senior Erica Miller led the Polar Bears with a 91. "I had to club up most of the time because my shots were short because of how wet it was," Miller said. Ellyse Schaefer, a junior, shot a 92. A pair of seniors — Grace Paseka and Mattie Kovalaske — shot 94 and 99, respectively to round out Margaretta's scorecard. "A couple of our girls (Paseka, Kovalaske) are peaking at the right time and our number 1 and 2 have been consistent all season," Margaretta coach Chris Smith said. Added Miller: "We came in pretty confident, but we weren't thinking it was in the bag. We all shot pretty good — all in the 90s." Fremont St. Joseph was the team champion with a 356. Tiffin Calvert took the third team district spot with a 391. Danbury was sixth at 419, led by Katelynne Bergman's 94 and Miranda Evans' 97. St. Mary Central Catholic finished eighth with a 449. SMCC's Chloe Finneran shot a 101. Port Clinton junior Lillie Fox shot a 92 to finish eighth among individuals. Fremont SJCC sophomore Ryan Dickman was medalist with a 77 and Calvert's Alyssa Rishty was second at 79. "The conditions were much different today than during the practice round," Smith said. "They were able to bounce them up to the green, but today they stuck. "It was really the putting that they had to get used to. The greens were way slower."