Franklin’s Lexi Ray chips onto the green during Monday’s sectional at Hickory Stick.
Chris Williams | For the Daily Journal
Nobody playing at Hickory Stick on Monday was alive back in 2005, the last time that Franklin had won a girls golf sectional.
Perhaps it was fitting that the course saw some much-needed rain over the final hour of play; ending droughts seemed to be a running theme.
The sixth-ranked Grizzly Cubs shot a season-best team score of 308 to claim the crown by six strokes over host Center Grove, which had won the last 10 sectional championships.
Franklin coach Ted Bishop held a meeting recently with his top three players — senior Reese Phillips and juniors Addi Bright and Lexi Ray — to set the mood for the postseason, and all three delivered. Ray was the medalist with an even-par 71, Phillips carded a 74 and Bright turned in a 77. Add in an 86 from freshman Mia Hart, and the Grizzly Cubs did enough to get the job done.
“I would put the three of them up against any top three of any team in the state,” Bishop said. “They came out and they did their job, and Mia Hart came out here and had her career best.”
The day was a particularly satisfying one for Ray, who won county player of the year honors the last two years but hadn’t been playing up to her lofty standards so far this fall. On Monday, she settled into a groove early with two birdies in the first seven holes and kept the good vibes going throughout.
“I was very positive out there,” Ray said. “It was a nice, relaxed day. I didn’t feel a lot of pressure; I was just trying to go out there and make it a good day. When the rain started, I was like, ‘Oh well. It’s refreshing.’”
Ray punctuated Franklin’s win by sticking her approach shot on the par-4 18th and then holing out a six-foot birdie putt.
Cassidy Rucker rounded out the Grizzly Cub contingent with a round of 89.
The eighth-ranked Trojans, meanwhile, were their usual solid selves, but they weren’t quite able to match Franklin’s top three shot for shot.
Amanda Wallace led a balanced Center Grove lineup with a 76, while Zoe Land had perhaps her best day as a high school player with a 77. Magnolia Miller shot 78, London Dodson 83 and Madisyn Bell 85.
”I think our team, if nothing else, has been steady,” Center Grove coach Cale Hoover said. “Since Magnolia’s been in the lineup, if you look at our scoring, we’re pretty consistent with who we are. So if we can go out there and put another good day together, we’ll take our chances. …
“Today Franklin was playing well, and they went out and won the thing. That’s the way it works.”
Southport claimed the third and final team regional bid with a total of 368. Roncalli was fourth at 385 and had two individuals advance to the regional — Ava Wenzel with an 88 and Izzy Huxley with a 92.
Greenwood Christian was sixth in the team standings with a 445; Makynlee Conn paced the Cougars with a 104. Whiteland was eighth with a 509.
With only two golfers, Greenwood was not able to score as a team, but senior Celia Stanley still had a highlight moment when she notched a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth.
In the Bloomington North Sectional at Cascades, Indian Creek placed eighth with a team score of 453. Shelby Roach had the low round for the Braves with a 104. Edinburgh did not post a team score, but Macie Blandford finished with a 94, just two strokes shy of qualifying for regional as an individual.
The Grizzly Cubs and Trojans will continue their local rivalry in Saturday’s regional at The Legends, where Center Grove rolled to victory in the Johnson County tournament earlier this season.
After Monday’s win, Ray feels good about her squad’s chances to not only advance to state for the second straight year, but perhaps get Franklin its first regional championship since 1999.
“We are good individual players where we can put pressure on other teams,” she said. “I’m so confident in this team.”
