LaFayette girls claim 7-AAAA golf crown

The youth movement in LaFayette High School golf is not reserved only for the boys.

This past Tuesday, the LaFayette Lady Ramblers — made up of all underclassmen — claimed the program’s first region title in nearly a decade with a nine-shot victory in the Region 7-AAAA tournament at Nob North.

A pair of 99’s from Catie Martin and McKinley Langford, paired with a 105 from Rebecca Benson, gave LaFayette a total of 303. Abby Hegwood also played, carding a 117, but only the top three scores count toward the team total.

“It’s been a almost 10 years since our girls have won one of these and the best thing about it is that we’re only freshmen and sophomores,” head coach Matt Swanson said. “(303) is a really good score for us. It was wet out there today, so we played lift, clean and place. Nob (North’s) greens are always slick and they slope a lot, so I thought our girls did a heck of a job (putting) on them.”

The 303 also meant that LaFayette met the qualifying score for the state tournament and will not have to earn a trip to state through sectional qualifying.

The Lady Ramblers all said that it felt “good” to win the region title.

“We’ve worked really hard for this and just want to continue to play well over the next couple of years,” Langford explained. “Plus, it’s nice not to have to worry about sectionals.”

Martin and Langford each finished one shot behind individual medalist Brooke Barnes of Heritage, who earned an automatic trip to state with her 98. Martin was awarded second after a scorecard playoff.

Emily Lewis’ 103 and Taylor Lutgen’s 111 gave the Lady Generals a team score of 312. Haley Hulvey also played for Heritage, but did not finish the round.

Players had to abandon their rounds if they had not broken 70 after their first nine holes. Due to that rule, Pickens and Northwest were the only other teams to post a score. The Lady Dragons were third at 345, followed by the Lady Bruins at 353.

Ridgeland, who was ineligible for the team trophy due to having only two golfers, saw both Christa Parrish and Kylie Mason have to pick up after nine holes.

Up next for the Lady Ramblers will be the Class 4A state tournament at the Applewood Country Club in Keysville on May 18.

“Our boys deserve all the publicity they get, but our girls really work their tails off too,” Swanson added. “It’s nice to see them bring a region championship back to LaFayette.”