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MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U CO-GAME OF THE WEEK (Girls Golf): WIAA Division 2 State Championships
Lancaster girls place 5th at WIAA Division 2 State Championships
Lancaster girls golf
The Lancaster girls golf team of Kate McWilliams, Lynell Miller, Evy Dhyanchand, Paige Lolwing and Brianna Kirsch shot a two-day 768 to place fifth at last week's WIAA Division 2 State Championships. McWilliams hit a hole in one on the 12th hole during her practice round on Sunday.

MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM CO-GAME OF THE WEEK (Oct. 12–19)
GIRLS GOLF: WIAA Division 2 State Championships

By A.J. Gates, Herald Independent

Lancaster girls place fifth at State

VERONA – With a two-day team score of 768, the Lancaster Flying Arrows  finished fifth of six teams at last week’s WIAA Girls State Golf Tournament held at University Ridge Golf Course on Oct. 10-11.

 This year’s team was only the third in program history to advance to the state meet, and the first to capture regional and sectional team titles along they way.

Led by second-year head coach Brooke Marcue, the Arrows followed up a first-day team score of 389 by shooting 10 strokes better on the second day.

By the end of the two-day competition, Prescott and The Prairie School finished in a first-place tie for the division 2 team title, both shooting a 684. After playing a tie-breaker hole to decide the state championship, Prescott finished two strokes ahead of The Prairie School.

This year’s race for the individual state title had a number of strong candidates, with five of the top six finishers from last year’s state meet returning again this season.

Among those was Lancaster junior Brianna Kirsch, who finished third at state last season to state champion Ava Saley of Prescott and runner-up Payton Schmidt of Jefferson.

On the first day of competition, Kirsch shot a 13-over-par round of 85 to occupy a top-10 spot in the overall standings. She shot a nine-over-par 45 on the front nine with three pars, three bogeys and three doubles, before shooting a four-over-par 40 on the back with five pars and four bogeys.

Sitting in first with an even-par-72 was Belle Kongshaug of Colfax/Elk Mound, followed by Saley at 75.

For the remaining Flying Arrows, junior Kate McWilliams was sitting in 27th (98), senior Paige Lolwing in 31st (102), freshman Lynell Miller in 33rd (104) and junior Evy Dhyanchand tied for 34th (106).

On day two, Lolwing made the biggest jump and largest improvement of her Lancaster teammates, shooting 10 strokes better with a 92 and jumping five spots to finish 26th.

Close behind her was McWilliams, who finished tied for 29th with a 101 on the second day, Dhyanchand who finished tied for 34th with a 105 and Miller who finished 36th with a 109 on day two.

Kirsch took top honors for the Arrows with an 81 on the second day, finishing sixth overall. Starting on the back, Kirsch shot a six-over-par round of 42 with one birdie, three pars, three bogeys and two doubles, before finishing with a three-over-par 39 on the front with two birdies, four pars, two bogeys and a triple.

Prescott senior Ava Saley, who is also a Wisconsin Badger commit, captured the state title with a two-day score of 149, finishing two strokes ahead of Kongshaug of Colfax/Elk Mound. Sophia Lawler of the Prairie School, followed up last year’s fifth-place finish by finishing third.

This fall there were 169 schools throughout the state sponsoring a girls golf team, with 101 in Division 1 and 68 in Division 2.


WIAA State Meet
(from Monday & Tuesday, Oct. 10-11, at University Ridge Golf Course, Verona)
Team scores - T1. Prescott 352-332=684; The Prairie School 348-336=684; 3. Altoona/Regis 378-373=751; 4. Edgewood 375-386=761; 5. Lancaster 389-379=768; 6. Wrightstown 412-408=818.
Medalist — Ava Salay (Prescott) 75-74=149.
Lancaster — 6.Brianna Kirsch 85-81=166; 26.Paige Lolwing 102-92=194; T29.Kate McWilliams 98-101=199; T34. Evy Dhyanchand 106-105=211; 36.Lynell Miller 104-109=213.