THE STATE MEET: The 48th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls State Golf Championships will be held Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 14-15, at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wis. Competition will begin at 8 a.m. on both days. Sunday practice tee time assignments are available on the girls golf homepage of the WIAA website.
STATE MEET STREAMED LIVE: The ninth and 18th holes of the WIAA State Girls Golf Championships will be streamed live without subscription on the NFHS Network at nfhsnetwork.com/associations/wiaa-wi or WIAA.tv.
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.
BY THE NUMBERS: There were 163 teams sponsoring girls tennis this fall with 110 in Division 1 and 53 in Division 2. The State Tournament field of teams and individuals is comprised of the first two teams and top three individuals, who are not members of a qualifying team, at each sectional.
TEAMS COMPETING: The schools qualifying for the State meet in Division 1 are Arrowhead, Bay Port, Brookfield Central, Cedarburg, Green Bay Preble/East/Southwest/West, Kettle Moraine, Middleton, Sheboygan North/South, Stevens Point, Tomah, Union Grove and Waunakee. The team qualifiers in Division 2 are Edgewood, Osseo-Fairchild/Fall Creek, Prescott, St. Croix Central, Wrightstown and Xavier.
HOW THEY QUALIFIED: The Division 1 field consists of the top two teams from each of the six sectionals, and the Division 2 field includes the top two teams from three sectionals. Eighteen individuals in Division 1 and nine individuals in Division 2 qualify as the top three players in each sectional that are not members of a qualifying team.
DIVISION 1 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: The 18 individuals who have qualified for the State meet in Division 1 are freshman AJ Powell of Appleton North; senior Rylie Severson of Ashwaubenon; senior Holly Murphy of Badger/Williams Bay; senior Meredith Boos of Catholic Memorial; senior Amanda Ruona of Hartford; junior Paige Hillman of Hudson; junior Kallie Lux of Janesville Craig; junior Courtney Draeger of Jefferson; senior Cameron Lee of Kenosha Tremper; senior Alyssa Dreher of Kewaskum/Campbellsport; senior Jessica Hagman of New Richmond; senior Grace Suter of Oconomowoc, junior Grace Miller of Oshkosh North; senior Sadie Kelley of Pulaski; junior Jaden Woiwode of River Falls; junior Caylie Kotlowski and senior Myranda Kotlowski of Stoughton, who are cousins; and senior Rachel Kauflin of Wauwatosa East/West.
DIVISION 2 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: The nine individual qualifiers in Division 2 are senior Rylee Haines of Arcadia/Independence; senior Mary Hommen of Cambridge; senior Abby DeMoe of Colfax; senior Holly Carlson of Ellsworth; sophomore Callie Berg of Freedom; freshman Ava Heckmann and junior Maya Heckmann of Lakeside Lutheran, who are sisters; senior Kiernan Smith of Northwestern; and senior Haley Myers of Somerset.
LAST YEAR: Kettle Moraine captured the Division 1 State team title for the first time in program history with a 36-hole score of 651. Middleton was runner-up at 659, and former defending champion Arrowhead was third at 669. Jo Baranczyk of Bay Port was the individual medalist with a score of 142. Emily Lauterbach of Arrowhead, who was the 2016 medalist, finished second with a score of 143. Edgewood won its 14th State team title by capturing the Division 2 crown, finishing with a score of 659. Xavier placed second with a score of 719. Clair Phakamad of Xavier won individual medalist honors by shooting a 152. Annie Balduzzi of Aquinas placed second with a 154.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 1: Junior Jo Baranczyk of Bay Port looks to repeat as medalist after winning the State title last year. She also qualified as a freshman in 2017 and placed fifth. Senior Rachel Kauflin of Wauwatosa East/West finished third last season and is back for another run at the title. Junior Caylie Kotlowski of Stoughton qualifies for the State Tournament for the second straight season after placing fourth a year ago. Senior Katherine Meier of Middleton may also be in the hunt for the individual title after placing fifth last season. Senior Holly Murphy of Badger, who finished in 10th place last season after placing tied for eighth in 2017, could also compete for the individual championship. Among the sectional champions competing to be in the mix for medalist honors, other than Kotlowski and Murphy, are senior Sami Krutz of Brookfield Central, who placed tied for 14th last year; senior Sadie Kelley of Pulaski, junior Elise Hoven of Cedarburg and freshman Brin Neumann of Tomah.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 2: Four of the top seven finishers from a year ago return to contend for the individual championship, including three Edgewood golfers. Senior Grace Welch of Edgewood should be considered one of the favorites to win the title after tying for third last season, which followed a fifth-place finish in 2017 and a third-place standing in 2016. Welch’s teammates, juniors Grace Jaeger and Caitlyn Hegenbarth, should also contend for medalist honors. Jaeger tied Welch for third a year ago after placing 15th in 2017. Hegenbarth finished fifth last year and 10th in 2017. Senior Kiernan Smith of Northwestern returns in pursuit of the title after finishing seventh in 2018. Other qualifiers that could contend for the title based on their sectional championship performances other than Welch are freshman Ava Salay of Prescott and sophomore Callie Berg of Freedom.
THROUGH THE YEARS: In the first 47 years of the girls golf championships, Edgewood has won the most team championships with 14, all coming since 2001. The Crusaders won two championships when only one division was offered in 2001-02 and the first seven Division 2 titles from 2003-09. They added to their total with championships from 2011-14 and again last season. Madison West and La Crosse Central are tied for the second-most team titles with five. The Regents won the first five championships offered from 1972-76. The Red Raiders won four consecutive State titles from 1990-93 and added their fifth in 1998. Appleton West, Arrowhead and Homestead have won four team championships. Osceola has crowned the most individual medalists with eight, and Madison Memorial is next in line with six individual champions.
NEED CREDENTIALS?: Media credentials for the 2019 WIAA Girls Golf Championships must be requested by submitting the request from the restricted media area of the WIAA website by noon Friday, Oct. 11. Credentials can be picked up upon arrival at University Ridge Golf Course. No credentials will be issued in advance.
NEED RESULTS?: Results are available on the WIAA website. Select the Tournament Information link on the Girls Golf Tournament page to access the GolfStat results link for each division.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Girls Golf Championships on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account@wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaagolf. Also like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram at wiaawi, and add us on Snapchat at wiaawis.
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