Girls golf: Season preview

When Cale Hoover took over as Center Grove’s girls golf coach, the Trojans hadn’t advanced to the state finals since 2015 — a long drought by Center Grove standards.

That relative dry spell ended in 2020, when Hoover’s third squad made it to Prairie View with a young lineup featuring one senior, one junior, one sophomore and two freshmen; that group tied for eighth.

The Trojans have become a finals fixture since, finishing in sole possession of eighth in 2021 and sharing runner-up honors last fall. As they take aim at a fourth consecutive state trip — and, they hope, a long-awaited championship — they’ll be led by a senior class with plenty of experience on the big stage.

Abby Rich and Camille Short, the two freshmen in that 2020 state lineup, are now seniors. Classmates Lexi Stuart and Rowen Pfeifle both played alongside Rich and Short at Prairie View in the last two state finals. All four finished on the top half of the individual leaderboard as Center Grove put up a two-day total of 643, tied with Castle for second place and 14 strokes behind champion Carmel.

That quartet should again be in the mix on the last day of the season — a day that Hoover can hardly believe is less than two months away.

“It’s been a quick four years,” he said. “It’s hard to believe that group is all seniors now, but they have done a lot, that’s for sure. I just want to see them go out with a season that they can be proud of and one they’ll remember, because … there’s some people that came before them, but their group is the one that really put us on the map and has established consistently high expectations.”

Those expectations have grown as each of the players in the current senior class has.

Hoover remembers Stuart as a “squirrelly” freshman who barely cracked the Trojans’ second five; a year later, she was entrenched in the postseason lineup. Pfeifle, he adds, surprised herself by making the varsity lineup as a sophomore, but was rock steady last fall.

The two four-year starters, though, might have undergone the bigger metamorphosis.

Short, Hoover points out, “wouldn’t talk hardly” as a freshman; now, she’s someone that the rest of the team looks up to and a player who’s worked hard to bring the team closer on and off the course.

“I definitely think I’ve kind of come out of of my shell a little bit,” Short said. “I try to be the best leader I can for the girls on the team — and it’s not necessarily come naturally for me; it’s been difficult. But I do my best with that.”

Rich has had to manage ongoing back pain since being involved in a car accident after her freshman season — but Hoover would like to see her take the next step forward on the mental side of the game.

“I’d like to see her just be more comfortable in her own skin,” Hoover said. “Worry less about the score she shoots and just focus on playing the right way. She’s as talented physically as any player I’ve had. She’s a really gifted ball striker. The golf ball comes off her club different; she’s just got a ton of pop.”

Not too many teams can boast four players with multiple years of state experience — and fewer still bring that type of experience back after a runner-up finish. Naturally, the Trojans believe that a championship is well within reach come late September.

There’s pressure there, but also a confidence that may end up outweighing it and allowing Center Grove to make history.

“There’s definitely more expectation there, more eyes on us,” Short said. “I think the key for us is not to fall into a comparison trap to last year; this year’s a new season with a new team. If we just play our own games, the results will take care of themselves.”

“I want to win really bad. That’s one of my goals, Rich added. “If we did, I don’t know if that would happen again, so that would be really cool to do in my last year.”

SCOUTING THE COUNTY

Center Grove Trojans

Coach: Cale Hoover

Last season: Won county, sectional and regional championships; tied for second at state finals

Key returnees: Ellie Adkisson, Rowen Pfeifle, Abby Rich, Camille Short and Lexi Stuart, seniors; London Dodson, Magnolia Miller and Amanda Wallace, juniors; Maren Pfeifle, sophomore

Outlook: A veteran lineup led Center Grove to its first regional title since 2011 and then a state runner-up finish, its best such showing there ever. With four senior starters returning — including two four-year regulars in Rich and Short — the Trojans are well equipped for an encore. Several of the players vying for that fifth lineup spot, including Miller and Maren Pfeifle, got at least some tournament experience last fall, so Hoover won’t be starved for depth. The competition will be fierce, especially from up on the north side of Indy, but Center Grove has all of the pieces it needs to win a state championship.

Edinburgh Lancers

Coach: Jessica Carie

Last season: Won Mid-Hoosier Conference title; sixth at county, seventh at Bloomington North Sectional

Key returnees: Izzy Richardson, senior; Macie Blandford, junior; Bella Turner, sophomore

Top newcomer: Sophia Pace, freshman

Outlook: The Lancers were decimated by the graduation of five seniors, leaving Carie with just four players on the roster as the season dawns. On the plus side, the top two (Richardson and Blandford) from last year’s team are back. Richardson just missed advancing to regional as an individual, losing in a sectional playoff; the hope is that both she and Blandford can contend to get out this fall. Edinburgh won’t have any room for error teamwise unless it can add some players, but there’s still enough talent at the top to perhaps defend its conference title.

Franklin Grizzly Cubs

Coaches: Ted Bishop and Crystal Morse

Last season: Mid-State Conference champion; second at county and sectional, fourth at regional

Key returnees: Kara Heuchan and Addie Livorno, seniors; Reese Phillips, junior; Addi Bright and Lexi Ray, sophomores

Top newcomers: Emma Christoff and Madi Spock, sophomores; Cassidy Rucker, freshman

Outlook: The Grizzly Cubs had hoped 2022 would bring an end to their long drought without a state finals appearance, but they finished one place short for the fifth time in the last six years. Franklin has the talent and experience to end the 24-year dry spell, with four starters returning and five players with significant varsity experience. Ray finished sixth in the state as a freshman and enters the season on the short list of top contenders for an individual state championship; Bishop is hopeful that the team will join her at Prairie View this time.

Greenwood Woodmen

Coaches: Jim and Elizabeth Hassee

Last season: Fourth in Johnson County tournament, sixth at Franklin Sectional

Key returnees: Lucia Agresta, Emma Baker, Gracie Gasaway and Ella Hall, seniors; Celia Stanley, junior

Top newcomers: Kate Bessinger and Leah Cunningham, sophomores

Outlook: The Woodmen bring back plenty of experience with the entire starting five returning, and Elizabeth Hassee is confident that finally having some coaching continuity year to year will help the team level up. Baker missed advancing out of the sectional by one stroke last fall; the hope — and it’s a realistic one — is that the entire team can reach the regional this time around.

Greenwood Christian Cougars

Coach: Jon Robinson

Last season: Seventh at county, ninth at Franklin Sectional

Key returnees: Taylor Harris and Emily Heldman, seniors; Morgan Brandt, junior; Jillian Rosner and Samantha Yarnell, sophomores

Top newcomers: Makynlee Conn, sophomore; Kiera Schamerloh and Addy Yeats, freshmen

Outlook: Robinson has his top three players from last year back in Harris, Brandt and Heldman, and he’s got a bit more depth to compete for the two open lineup spots at 4 and 5. Conn, a Center Grove transfer, heads into the season as the front-runner among that group, but there are a few others nipping at her heels. GCA hopes to drop its 18-hole scoring by a good 20 or 30 shots this fall, which could put it around the middle of the county pack.

Indian Creek Braves

Coach: Rose Moore

Last season: Fifth in county and at Bloomington North Sectional

Key returnees: Cristole Baugh, Emily Hogue and Allison Vavul, juniors; Shelby Roach, sophomore

Top newcomer: Megan Ellis, junior

Outlook: The Braves lost their top three players, including four-year No. 1 Hannah Emenhiser, and haven’t gotten a big wave of reinforcements, so this will likely be a rebuilding season. Baugh and Roach were both in the varsity lineup last season, so those two will be counted on to provide some experienced leadership for the rest of the team. The good news for Indian Creek is that without any seniors playing, 2023 offers a good chance to lay groundwork for the future.

Whiteland Warriors

Coach: Katie DeClercq

Last season: Third at county, fifth in conference and at Franklin Sectional

Key returnees: Chloe Cooper, Emma Gunn, Karley Hoagland and Kylie McGovern, seniors; Elayna Taylor, sophomore

Outlook: Like Greenwood, the Warriors will run it back with their full 2022 lineup still in the fold. DeClercq felt good about how her first team finished out last fall, and she’s been excited by the improvements she’s seen during the offseason. Cooper got through to the regional as an individual last season, and the hope is that she won’t be alone in making it there this time around.