Franklin’s Addi Bright watches her tee shot on the 16th hole during state finals play on Saturday.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
The Franklin-Center Grove rivalry earned two days of well-deserved spotlight at the sport’s ultimate showcase.
Per custom, the teams remained within sight of one another through the time the final putt dropped Saturday afternoon at Prairie View Golf Club, host of the annual state finals.
Led by their top three of Lexi Ray, Addi Bright and Reese Phillips, the Grizzly Cubs secured fifth-place with a 36-hole score of 664 — just missing the program’s finals standard of 661 set in a third-place finish at Prestwick Country Club in 1998.
The Trojans took sixth overall with a total of 674. It marked the fifth consecutive visit to state for coach Cale Hoover’s girls, with every one of the teams placing in the top eight.
“It speaks a lot for golf in Johnson County,” Franklin coach Ted Bishop said. “We had a great year. I mean, we haven’t finished in the top five in the state in 25 years. We won the sectional, we won the regional and we won the conference.
“This is as good a season as you could really hope to have in a lot of ways as a coach.”
Zionsville (627) held off Noblesville (632) to claim its first team title since 2017. Hamilton Southeastern (652) and Westfield (653) also made it to the awards podium as top-four finishers.
Individually, Ray and Trojans’ senior Magnolia Miller just missed All-State status by tying for 12th. Ray followed up Friday’s score of 76 with a 77; Miller, who’ll be playing next season at Huntington University, went 74-79 for an identical 153 total.
“Our goal was to actually get on the podium. We knew that it was going to be tough, but at the end of the day, we got fifth,” Ray said. “There’s nothing to be mad about. I’m just super proud of this team.”
Ray, who finished tied for sixth individually as a freshman and tied for 18th last season, was hoping for a return to the podium as one of the 10 lowest scores.
“I was happy with my play after the front nine today where I was 1-under. I don’t know what really happened, but I tried to get it back. I knew I needed to make my 4-foot putt on the last hole to get top 10, and it lipped out,” Ray said. “It was a struggle because it’s been lipping out all day.
“I still can’t be mad at 12th. I missed it by one, so I think that kind of gives me a little bit of motivation for next year.”
Phillips, the lone senior starter for Franklin, shot 79-82—161 to tie for 27th. Bright (80-86—166) shared the 39th spot with two others, while Cassidy Rucker paired consecutive 92s and freshman Mia Hart finished play with scores of 102 and 98.
“These girls, particularly my top three and most experienced players, they’re pretty tough mentally,” Bishop said. “When you get out here, this is more of an endurance contest. It’s more an exercise in mental toughness than it is a golf tournament.
“They did a great job of raising up the players like Rucker and Hart. They set good examples. I really enjoyed this group of girls a lot.”
Center Grove shot a team total of 333 during the second round, an improvement of eight strokes from Friday.
“I think it’s just surreal, being my first state finals last year to leading it this year,” said Miller, who was the Trojans’ lone returning starter this season. “Playing good the first day, and backing it up with a pretty decent round the second day. Just leading my team has been really special to me, especially for my last year here.
“Towards the beginning of the season, I definitely didn’t think we would make it here at all. The fact that we’re even here makes me super proud. I’m happy for myself, but I’m more happy for my team.”
Senior London Dodson tied for 42nd (85-82—167) for Center Grove, while sophomore Zoe Land finished in 59th (89-87—176) and senior Amanda Wallace tied for 70th (98-85—183). Madisyn Bell, a sophomore, fired an 88 after not being in the lineup Friday.
Hoover felt his squad certainly maximized its potential.
“My expectations were that we would find a way out of (sectional and regional),” he said. “At the beginning of the year, the goal was to advance, and as we got going, we knew we had a chance to potentially win those events.
“That didn’t end up happening, but we played a lot of good golf along the way. This group, I really liked how they played. I thought we played the right way. We had some rough spots yesterday, but we came back and played much better today.”
