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By TR HARLAN It may have been the same course and the same tournament as in 2007, but the circumstances were certainly different. Saturday at the Valparaiso Country Club, the Chesterton girls golf team was the overwhelming favorite in the Sectional and they delivered with a 53-stroke victory over second place Valparaiso. “Obviously, it’s pretty neat to win two Sectionals in a row especially since Chesterton had never won one before last year,” Chesterton coach Dale Hewitt said. “We were the favorite, but you still have to go out and get the job done.” The Trojans fired a 349-team score to beat Valparaiso (402) and LaPorte (405). All three school’s qualify for next Saturday’s LaPorte Regional at Beechwood. Chesterton’s team score was its best ever at the Valparaiso Country Club since the 2006 team fired a 368. In the 2007 Sectional, CHS fired a 373. “Last year we had to take (the Sectional title) and this year we were supposed to win,” Hewitt said. “I told them just to try and play their game and not get uptight. If we did that, I thought we’d walk out of here with the trophy.” The Trojans were led by Allyse Kotso and Erin DeVaney with team-best score’s of 84. DeVaney got off to a hot start with back-to-back birdies to open the round, while Kotso also birdied the second hole. “I figured they’d both shoot below 85 today and that’s what they did,” Hewitt said. Jessica O’Brien followed the duo with an 89, while Hayley Miller’s 92 and Raine Fox’s 100 rounded out the scoring. “It was really nice to see Jessica go out and break 90,” Hewitt said. “Hayley was in the low 90’s and Raine made a nice comeback on the back nine.” Next Saturday, the Trojans will try to qualify for the IHSAA State Finals, but will have to be even better. “We’ll need four solid scores,” Hewitt said. “We can’t just have two really good ones and two ok ones. The other teams we’ll see are just too good.” Saturday’s performance in the Sectional should bode well for the future though. “We’re striking the ball well and we’ll have to be solid with our short game,” Hewitt said. “We’ve played pretty well (at Beechwood). We’ve already shot in the 350’s there this year. “Today was a good sign that we are going in the right direction.”
Valparaiso Sectional AT VALPARAISO COUNTRY CLUB, Par 72 (Top 3 teams advance to LaPorte Regional) 1. Chesterton, 349; 2. Valparaiso, 402; 3. LaPorte, 405; 4. Portage, 413; 5. Hobart, 421; 6. Michigan City Marquette, 445; 7. Boone Grove, 447; 8. New Prairie, 451; 9. Wheeler, 461; 10. Michigan City, 538. Individual Results (Top 3 individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to LaPorte Regional) Medalist – Annie Nolan (Valparaiso), 82. Chesterton – Allyse Kotso 84, Erin DeVaney 84, Jessica O’Brien 89, Hayley Miller 92, Raine Fox 100. Valparaiso – Annie Nolan 82, Kelly Copeland 98, Lyndsey Holmes 109, Kate Manning 113, Libbie Gilliland 115. LaPorte – Lisa Marie Mullen 89, Nikki Dunham 98, Darby Alcorn 105, Cassandra Jerkovic 113, Sara Benefiel 114. Portage – Sarah Dienes 98, Alex Simmons 103, Shelby Milner 104, Megan Harris 108, Carolyn Tackett 131. Hobart – Kathleen Cooper 94, Rebecca Snemis 101, Teague Pawlak 112, Ashley Kilgore 114, Allison Smith 115. Michigan City Marquette – Mary-Katherine Slattery 85, Summer Schau 101, Ashley Dickson 127, Mauren McDonald 132, Erin Krueger 139. Boone Grove – Jillian Joyce 84, Anna Robinson 116, Kristen Kleben 116, Normis Salas 131, Lindsey Bennett 156. New Prairie – Stephanie Ferro 97, Chelsea Purkal 115, Terri Watts 117, Lauren O’Malley 122, Michelle Ferro 124. Wheeler – Brianne Michaels 110, Lynsey Sell 111, Laurin Guernsey 115, Rebecca Ryan 125, Emily Sell 130. Michigan City – Cecelia Gussman 116, Marissa Taebel 126, Laura Bennett 145, Magdeline Gondeck 151, Paige Mellen 155.
Posted 9/22/2008
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