Twins lead Westosha Central to its first girls golf state championship
MADISON – Some games, a good meal and some good music.
If you're ever looking for the blueprint to a settling your nerves the night and hours before one of the biggest moments of your life, you might want to follow Westosha Central's lead.
The Falcons girls golf team made its first WIAA state tournament appearance since 2002 this week and after the first round found itself tied with Middleton, a program that is no stranger to the state tournament. Cenral's first state championship was within reach, but the Falcons didn't get swallowed by the magnitude of the opportunity.
In fact, it was quite the opposite. Bolstered by some fun and games at the hotel and a good night of sleep, the team posted the low round for the second straight day, a performance that allowed Central to fight off a hard charge from Sussex Hamilton and capture the Division 1 championship Tuesday at University Ridge.
“We went with the mentality of let's get through that front nine. Same idea as yesterday,” Falcons coach Ryan Dahl said. “Put yourself in position to have a chance to win it at the end.”
The title was not only Central's first, but it was the first for a member of the Southern Lakes Conference. Leading the way were sophomores twins Kylie and Katelyn Walker. Kylie tied for fifth and Katelyn finished ninth, the best finish for any tandem among the teams that qualified.
The two are seasoned players who qualified for state as individual as freshman. With the stakes much higher this time, they helped make the night before the second round as laid back as possible.
“We just had fun with it,” Katelyn said. “We just wanted to stay calm, relaxed.”
Stevens Point junior Riley Pechinski shot a 1-under 141 to win medalist by five stokes over Union Grove junior Norah Roberts and Appleton North junior AJ Powell.
In all, six Milwaukee-area players finished in the top 10. Kylie Walker tied for fifth at 4-over, seniors Sarah Balding of Brookfield Central and Madeline Fiebig of Kettle Moraine tied for seventh at 5 over, Katelyn Walker was ninth at 8over and Kettle Moraine senior Jenna Anderson and Sussex Hamilton junior
Kayla Johnson tied for 10th at 9 overall.
In the team race, Central wasn't the only team that broke through. Sussex Hamilton, a first-time qualifier, won the runner-up trophy. The Chargers finished six straight ahead of thirdplace Middleton.
“It's been a heck of a two days for the Hamilton girls,” Chargers coach Dan Heckman said. “We've had some rough holes but we came out here this morning swinging and we said we were going to leave it all on the course.”