<p><strong>E</strong>ven when you’re as deep as the Center Grove girls golf team already was, an infusion of young talent is always welcome. A coach can never have too many good players.</p><p>Still, Trojans coach Cale Hoover knew that when a bevy of skilled freshmen coming in, he’d have some tough decisions to make.</p><p>“The older players knew that they were going to have to be at the top of their games because of who was coming in,” Hoover said.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>Indeed, some veterans wound up being unseated, and the Trojans wound up going into the postseason with two freshmen and a sophomore in the starting lineup. But it’s hard to argue with the results.</p><p>Thanks in large part to those three varsity newcomers, Center Grove qualified for the state finals as a team for the first time since 2015, and the sixth-ranked Trojans are going in with their sights set high.</p><p>“Our goal, really, going into state is to be one of the top four teams,” freshman Camille Short said. “That gets us a medal. So if we knock off a Homestead or a Westfield, which we’ve been close and we have done, that’ll get it done.”</p><p>Center Grove has gotten it done all year thanks to a balanced lineup that could be led by anyone on a given day. Though senior Meg Fosnot has been the go-to girl overall, six different Trojans have shot the team’s low round at one event or another this season.</p><p>That list includes sophomore Sage Parsetich, who has settled in at the No. 3 spot, and freshmen Abby Rich and Short, who have held down the fourth and fifth positions for most of the season.</p><p>The ascent of those newcomers created a numbers crunch, one that pushed senior Lauren Pagel — an All-County player just last season — out of the top five.</p><p>“That wasn’t fun and it wasn’t easy,” Hoover said of making that change. “Lauren has contributed a great deal to this program over the years, and we knew that — and still does every day. … Lauren has handled it very well and continued to be a good teammate every day.”</p><p>The younger players, though, simply played too well to be denied. Parsetich was the medalist in the season-opening match against Grenwood and then again just days later in a win over Avon. Short had Center Grove’s best score at the sectional and was one stroke behind Fosnot at the regional. In between, Rich also had her turn on a few occasions.</p><p>Now, all three will be playing on the biggest stage of their high school careers. They’re going to do their best to treat Friday and Saturday like two regular rounds of golf.</p><p>“Last weekend, I was definitely really nervous because I wanted to do well,” Rich said, “but I think I’m just going to treat this like another tournament and just go with it, and whatever happens, happens.”</p><p>“I’m not too nervous about (state),” Parsetich added. “Just put a good score out.”</p><p>Hoover says that when the team made it out of last weekend’s regional at Smock, he felt more relief than excitement. He knows what his team is capable of — not just this year, but in the long term.</p><p>Among this year’s top five, only Fosnot and junior Lanie DeHaven will depart over the next two years — and there are numerous other underclassmen waiting in the wings to fill those spots capably.</p><p>Whatever happens this weekend, Hoover believes it’s just the beginning.</p><p>“The whole thing,” he said, “is we want to develop the attitude and the culture — much like we have on the boys side of things, where this is just where we expect to be — and then build from there.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><p><strong>IHSAA state finals</strong></p><p><p><strong>At Prairie View GC, Carmel</strong></p><p>When: Friday and Saturday, 8:30 a.m.</p><p>Admission: $12 (good for both days; tickets must be purchased in advance at <a href="https://gofan.co/app/school/IHSAA">https://gofan.co/app/school/IHSAA</a>)</p><p>Webcast (Saturday only): <a href="https://www.ihsaatv.org/">https://www.ihsaatv.org/</a></p><p>Teams participating: Center Grove, Carmel, Castle, Columbus North, Concord, Crown Point, Culver Academies, Evansville North, Greenfield-Central, Hamilton Southeastern, Homestead, Noblesville, NorthWood, Western, Westfield</p><p>Friday morning’s local tee times (all off 10th tee): Ava Ray, Franklin, 8:30; Ellie Beavins, Franklin, 8:39; Camille Short, Center Grove, 8:48; Abby Rich, Center Grove, 8:57; Sage Parsetich, Center Grove, 9:06; Lanie DeHaven, Center Grove, 9:15; Meg Fosnot, Center Grove, 9:24; Maura Guilfoy, Greenwood, 10:45</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
