WIAA Girls State Golf Preview
Wednesday, October 5th, 2016 -- 11:18 AM
The 45th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls State Golf Championships will be held Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 10-11, at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison.THE FORMAT: 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.
TEAMS COMPETING: The schools qualifying for the State meet in Division 1 are Arrowhead, Brookfield Central, De Pere, Homestead, Kettle Moraine, Middleton, Milton, Notre Dame, Onalaska, Oregon, Stevens Point and Union Grove. The team qualifiers in Division 2 are Aquinas, Arcadia, Fox Valley Lutheran, Hayward, Spooner and the Prairie School.
DIVISION 1 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: The 18 individuals who have qualified for the State meet in Division 1 are junior Sami Plankey of Appleton North, senior Ashley Kulka of Beaver Dam, junior Sydney Brandt of Catholic Memorial, senior Anna Reisinger of Cedarburg, junior Lorenza Martinez of Divine Savior Holy Angels, sophomore Lexi Meade of Eau Claire Memorial, junior Courtney Matschke and senior Hailey Smoot of Franklin, senior Katie Warpinski of Green Bay Preble, junior Bree Downie of Hortonville, senior Lexi Jonas of Hudson, senior Hannah Moore of Kaukauna, senior Jordann Handy of Oshkosh West, senior Kelsey Taebel of Stoughton, junior Lauren Shorter of Verona, senior Taitum Beck of Waterford, senior Jessica Kuzniewski of Waukesha South/North/West, and senior Cierra Botcher of Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln.
DIVISION 2 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: The nine individual qualifiers in Division 2 are junior Hope Tiffany of Baldwin-Woodville, freshman Abby DeMoe of Colfax, freshman Grace Welch of Edgewood, senior Lori Meyer of Freedom, senior Brooke Marcue of Lancaster, junior Kendra Maki of Northwestern, senior Sarah Busey of Racine St. Catherine’s, senior Katie Kiraly of Stanley-Boyd and sophomore Clair Phakamad of Xavier.
LAST YEAR: Middleton won the State Division 1 team title with a 36-hole score of 641. Arrowhead was runner-up for the second straight season, finishing just one stroke behind at 642. Ashley Kulka of Beaver Dam was the individual medalist with a score of 146. Loren Skibba of Middleton finished second with a 149 after winning the title in 2014. The Prairie School won the Division 2 team title with a score of 713. Edgewood placed second, four strokes off the leader with a score of 717. Stanley Wang of St. Thomas More won individual medalist honors by shooting a 156. Kayla Thielen of Marinette placed second with a 157.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 1: Senior Ashley Kulka of Beaver Dam is back seeking her second straight individual championship. She leads a quartet of returning competitors that placed in the top-10 last season. Senior Alexis Thomas of Middleton is back to contend for the title after finishing in fourth place last season. Junior Speedy Kent of Homestead placed seventh last year after finishing eighth her freshman campaign. She could be among the challengers for the title this year. In addition, senior Jessica Kuzniewski of Waukesha South/North/West returns to State after placing eighth a year ago. Among the sectional champions competing to be in the mix for medalist honors are senior Lexi Jonas of Hudson, juniors Sami Plankey of Appleton North and Mia Seeman of Milton, and sophomore Emily Lauterbach of Arrowhead.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 2: Four of the top 10 finishers from a year ago return to contend for the individual championship. Senior Lori Meyer of Freedom moved up a place last season to fifth after placing sixth in 2014. Senior Megan Glaeser of Fox Valley Lutheran could be among the leaders this season after placing seventh last year. Seniors Dani DeWitt of Spooner and Olivia Scumaci of The Prairie School figure to contend for the title after tying for 8th in the state last season. Senior Laura Tremblay of Hayward could also be in title contention after turning in a medalist performance at sectionals following a 12th-place finish in 2015. Other sectional champions that could contend for individual medalist honors are sophomores Annie Balduzzi of Aquinas, who finished 13th last season, and Clair Phakamad of Xavier.
NEED RESULTS?: Results are available on the WIAA website. Select the Tournament Information link on the Girls Golf State Results page to access the GolfStat results link for each division.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.