Johnson Advances To State
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
KENDALLVILLE - On a day that was otherwise cold, rainy and dreery, Kristi O'Brien, Emily Johnson and Lina Pisquali shot sizzling individual rounds and were in the spotlight in Saturday's regional at Cobblestone Golf Course near Kendallville.
Playing the round together, the trio was impressive in outdoing the rest of the field and the weather.
O'Brien, a senior at Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, shot a 3-under par 69 to garner medalist honors, while Johnson, a senior at Warsaw, and Pasquali, a senior at East Noble, tied for second after shooting 72.
"That was awesome to watch," Warsaw coach Chris LaLonde said of the trio's impressive round. "The girl from Luers (Pasquali) made some great shots. The last four holes, Emily did a better job going past the hole. She really got it going the last four holes."
Johnson, who as a 14-year-old freshman became the youngest in state history to win an individual girls golf state championship, is the only local player that advanced to Friday and Saturday's state finals at Legends of Indiana in Franklin.
Wawasee and Warsaw competed in the nine-team regional, with Wawasee shooting a four-person fifth-place score of 360 while Warsaw finished sixth with a 367.
The top three teams, as well as the top three individuals not on an advancing team, qualified for the state finals.
East Noble, which served as host for the regional, shot 325 to win the team championship. DeKalb finished second at 332, followed by Leo (341), Homestead (344), Wawasee (360), Warsaw (367), Fort Wayne Concordia (369), Columbia City (374) and Bishop Luers (395).
Advancing to the state finals as individuals were Pisquali, Johnson and Carroll's Ashley Kees, who shot a 75.
LaLonde said she believed playing in that trio helped Johnson, as the three talented players pushed each other to play better, so to speak.
"I think that helps a lot," LaLonde said of playing in a group as talented as the aformentioned trio. "Especially playing with the girl from Luers who shot 69. That's very impresive."
LaLonde said Johnson's 18-hole round of par was "probably the best she's played," this season.
While Warsaw didn't advance as a team, the Tigers' team score was 30 strokes better than last Saturday's score at the sectional at Stonehenge.
"I'm proud of the girls," said LaLonde. "We shot 30 strokes better than last week. Audrey Petro shot very well. She shot a 51 on the front and comes back with a 45 on the back. She deserves a lot of credit. Alyssa Cameron shot well. She was steady. Tracy Thallemer was 15 strokes better than last week, and we didn't use Kylie Dishman's score but it was 10 strokes better than her sectional score."
Thallemer and Petro both shot 96 while Cameron finished with a 103 and Dishman shot a 105.
Wawasee's team score was two strokes better than its sectional championship score at Stonehenge.
Given the weather conditions, Wawasee coach Scott DeHart was pleased with the way his team played.
"Going into the sectional, we wanted to live to fight another week," said DeHart. "That's what we were hoping for at the regional. We were gonna play, let the dust settle and hope to play another week."
With the rainy conditions and impressive team scores turned in Saturday, there was little, if any, dust that settled.
"This was the best of the best from the sectionals," said DeHart. "This was a great opportunity for our kids. Coming here to play in the regional was a new experience. The competed in the state tournament and did a good job competing."
Jessica Rondeau led Wawasee with a 78.
"Seventy-eight is a good round for her," DeHart said of Rondeau's round. "That's a great round, 40-38. She's shot well all year."
Other scores for Wawasee included Kayla Brown's 91, Taylor Goshert's 95, Kelsey Mark's 96 and Mary McCauley's 105.
EAST NOBLE REGIONAL
Team scores - East Noble 325, DeKalb 332, Leo 341, Homestead 344, Wawasee 360, Warsaw 367, Fort Wayne Concordia 369, Columbia City 374, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers 395
Warsaw - Emily Johnson 72, Tracy Thallemer 96, Audrey Petro 96, Alyssa Cameron 103, Kylie Dishman 105
Wawasee - Jessica Rondeau 78, Kayla Brown 91, Taylor Goshert 95, Kelsey Mark 96, Mary McCauley 105
Actual low scores - Kristi O'Brien (Luers) 69, Emily Johnson (Warsaw) 72, Lina Pasquali (East Noble) 72
Advancing individuals - O'Brien (Luers) 69, Johnson (Warsaw) 72, Ashley Kees (Carroll) 75 [[In-content Ad]]
KENDALLVILLE - On a day that was otherwise cold, rainy and dreery, Kristi O'Brien, Emily Johnson and Lina Pisquali shot sizzling individual rounds and were in the spotlight in Saturday's regional at Cobblestone Golf Course near Kendallville.
Playing the round together, the trio was impressive in outdoing the rest of the field and the weather.
O'Brien, a senior at Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, shot a 3-under par 69 to garner medalist honors, while Johnson, a senior at Warsaw, and Pasquali, a senior at East Noble, tied for second after shooting 72.
"That was awesome to watch," Warsaw coach Chris LaLonde said of the trio's impressive round. "The girl from Luers (Pasquali) made some great shots. The last four holes, Emily did a better job going past the hole. She really got it going the last four holes."
Johnson, who as a 14-year-old freshman became the youngest in state history to win an individual girls golf state championship, is the only local player that advanced to Friday and Saturday's state finals at Legends of Indiana in Franklin.
Wawasee and Warsaw competed in the nine-team regional, with Wawasee shooting a four-person fifth-place score of 360 while Warsaw finished sixth with a 367.
The top three teams, as well as the top three individuals not on an advancing team, qualified for the state finals.
East Noble, which served as host for the regional, shot 325 to win the team championship. DeKalb finished second at 332, followed by Leo (341), Homestead (344), Wawasee (360), Warsaw (367), Fort Wayne Concordia (369), Columbia City (374) and Bishop Luers (395).
Advancing to the state finals as individuals were Pisquali, Johnson and Carroll's Ashley Kees, who shot a 75.
LaLonde said she believed playing in that trio helped Johnson, as the three talented players pushed each other to play better, so to speak.
"I think that helps a lot," LaLonde said of playing in a group as talented as the aformentioned trio. "Especially playing with the girl from Luers who shot 69. That's very impresive."
LaLonde said Johnson's 18-hole round of par was "probably the best she's played," this season.
While Warsaw didn't advance as a team, the Tigers' team score was 30 strokes better than last Saturday's score at the sectional at Stonehenge.
"I'm proud of the girls," said LaLonde. "We shot 30 strokes better than last week. Audrey Petro shot very well. She shot a 51 on the front and comes back with a 45 on the back. She deserves a lot of credit. Alyssa Cameron shot well. She was steady. Tracy Thallemer was 15 strokes better than last week, and we didn't use Kylie Dishman's score but it was 10 strokes better than her sectional score."
Thallemer and Petro both shot 96 while Cameron finished with a 103 and Dishman shot a 105.
Wawasee's team score was two strokes better than its sectional championship score at Stonehenge.
Given the weather conditions, Wawasee coach Scott DeHart was pleased with the way his team played.
"Going into the sectional, we wanted to live to fight another week," said DeHart. "That's what we were hoping for at the regional. We were gonna play, let the dust settle and hope to play another week."
With the rainy conditions and impressive team scores turned in Saturday, there was little, if any, dust that settled.
"This was the best of the best from the sectionals," said DeHart. "This was a great opportunity for our kids. Coming here to play in the regional was a new experience. The competed in the state tournament and did a good job competing."
Jessica Rondeau led Wawasee with a 78.
"Seventy-eight is a good round for her," DeHart said of Rondeau's round. "That's a great round, 40-38. She's shot well all year."
Other scores for Wawasee included Kayla Brown's 91, Taylor Goshert's 95, Kelsey Mark's 96 and Mary McCauley's 105.
EAST NOBLE REGIONAL
Team scores - East Noble 325, DeKalb 332, Leo 341, Homestead 344, Wawasee 360, Warsaw 367, Fort Wayne Concordia 369, Columbia City 374, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers 395
Warsaw - Emily Johnson 72, Tracy Thallemer 96, Audrey Petro 96, Alyssa Cameron 103, Kylie Dishman 105
Wawasee - Jessica Rondeau 78, Kayla Brown 91, Taylor Goshert 95, Kelsey Mark 96, Mary McCauley 105
Actual low scores - Kristi O'Brien (Luers) 69, Emily Johnson (Warsaw) 72, Lina Pasquali (East Noble) 72
Advancing individuals - O'Brien (Luers) 69, Johnson (Warsaw) 72, Ashley Kees (Carroll) 75 [[In-content Ad]]