Ferry’s Hancock, Lude, St. C’s Baker Qualify for District Championships
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CARROLLTON--Martins Ferry came a few strokes away from pushing its full girls team through the district tournament during Tuesday's Division II Girls Sectional championship at Carroll Meadows in Carrollton.
Garaway ran away with the team championship after the entirety of the Pirates' all-senior team finished in the Top 13, including Brooklyn Numbers, who tied Carrollton's Claire Hostetler for medalist honors with a 71.
The Pirates edged the Carrollton Warriors 295-333, with Tuscarawas Valley (343), Fort Frye (377), Meadowbrook (388) and River View (400) rounding out the Top 6.
While the top six teams qualified for Wednesday's District Championships at the Cambridge Country Club, the Purple Riders were three strokes off the pace for the sixth spot, coming in seventh at 403.
All was not lost for the Riders, however, as head coach Mike Beck's Purple pushed two individuals through to Cambridge.
Junior Julia Hancock advanced during her third attempt at the districts after missing the cut by five strokes as a sophomore. That day, Hancock shot a disappointing 51 on the front nine at Carroll Meadows, but no such problem existed Tuesday.
Hancock shot a 40 on the front nine and 42 on the back to finish with an 82 and a three-way tie for 13th.
"She was pretty confident coming in and I believe she shot a 40 on the front, she was ready to go and had put last year behind her," Beck said. "She's worked so hard to get here and I'm happy for her because she narrowly missed last year."
Meanwhile, senior newcomer Danielle Lude continues to impress as she qualified for the districts in her first season of competitive golf.
A standout on the Riders' basketball and softball teams, Lude decided to pick up golf as a junior recreationally and for her senior season, decided to join the team.
The result? Lude shot an 81, tying for 11th place and earning one of the six individual qualifying spots to join her teammate.
"This is her first year fully playing," Beck said. "She's just an athlete and it comes naturally too her. It's kind of easier to coach her because she's raw and new to the game and she doesn't have those bad habits you have to break her out of. Plus she's a good listener. She does whatever you ask her to do.
"She's like a sponge."
They will be joined in Cambridge by St. Clairsville sophomore Olivia Baker, whose 76 was good enough for a three-way tie for sixth place with Garaway's Sydni Porysi and West Holmes' Kenzie Woods.
Baker started strong on the back nine and came out firing a 35, but struggled a bit on the front nine with a 41. Still, by that point, scores were coming and Baker and Red Devils' head coach Ryan Clifford knew there was no need to push the panic button.
Baker was moving on.
"She started on the back nine and by the time we got to the front, we started getting back scores," Clifford said. "There's a three-hole stretch that's the hardest part of the course which wasn't great. It's survive and advance, but we'll take a 76 all day."
Baker came seemingly out of nowhere a season ago when, as a freshman, she advanced all the way to the Division II state championship match.
Now a household name in local golf circles, many are expecting Baker to equal her feet from a season ago, if not build upon.
Still, the 76 is also an improvement--six strokes worth, actually--from last season when Baker shot an 82 at Carroll Meadows to finish in a tie for 7th.
Clifford tries to keep his sophomore focused on the task ahead while blocking out all other distractions.
"We try not to talk about last year very much," Clifford said. "Last year, no one knew who she was, but now she's the defending (district) champion and she's worn that pressure a bill all year but I think she's finally getting used to playing with that burden."
Hancock snagged the final of the six individual qualifying spots. 11 shots back was local duo Olivia Poziviak of St. C. and Harrison Central's Kaily Banal. Banal actually qualified as a sophomore for the district, but missed the cut this time. Poziviak narrowly missed a spot last year and will no doubt be gunning for one in 2024.
River's Jamie Smith shot a 98 to finish in 36th to lead the Pilots' contingent.