FRANKLIN -ÊWarsaw freshman Emily Johnson reached into her bag and stepped out on the practice putting green to take a few swings at the Legends of Indiana Golf Course Saturday.

Thing was, Johnson had finished her 18-hole second round at the girls golf state finals nearly an hour earlier.

All Johnson's hard work paid off later Saturday afternoon when she was crowned the Indiana state champion with her two-day total score of 148. She finished the two-day match four strokes ahead of North Decatur's Angela Gauck's 152.

"It's a thrill to win it as a freshman," said Johnson. "I wanted my team to do well, so I just played my best. I was a little surprised at how well we did, making it to the second day. It was a real accomplishment."

"I told Emily's brother this is INCREDIBLE with capital letters," said Warsaw coach Chris LaLonde. "She just played fantastic both days."

After shooting a par-72 in far-from-perfect conditions in Friday's opening round, Johnson led the field by three strokes.

Saturday, Johnson sailed through the first four holes before experiencing a setback on hole No. 5. Johnson finished the par-4 hole in nine strokes.

"On the fifth hole, she shot a nine," said LaLonde. "She hit two balls out of bounds on the hole and struggled a bit."

However, Johnson battled and got back on track.

"After that nine-stroke hole, she fought back with a par and a birdie and parred-out the rest of the front side" LaLonde said.

"She had great course management. Her level of maturity on the course is so far above what most freshmen have. She had a bad hole, but she did not let it get to her. It was over and she moved on."

"I got a lot of help from coach after that hole," said Johnson. "My brother (2002 Warsaw graduate Adam Johnson) was out here today. He came up from the University of Evansville to watch me. That really helped keep me focused and get me pumped up when I was down."

Johnson finished the day with a 4-over-par 76 to reel in the individual state championship title. She is believed to be the first freshman, and the youngest player, to win the Indiana individual title.

Actually, the Johnson family is no stranger to state competitions. Emily's father, Tom Johnson, led his high school team in Nebraska to four straight team state championships. He placed fourth, third, second and seventh individually in his freshman though senior seasons.

Just a few years ago, Emily's brother, Adam, competed in the state finals with his Warsaw team as well. He was a member of the 2001 and 2002 Tiger squads that placed fourth and 10th, respectively.

But with her first-place finish, Emily has become the first state champion in Warsaw since 1991 and 1992, when Keri White won back-to-back state championships in the 800-meter dash. The last team championship came in 1991, when Rod Yoder led the softball team to a state title.

However, Johnson is not planning to rest on her laurels.

"I would like to repeat and come back and break some records," she said. "I hope the team improves over the summer and is able to get back here again."

As a team, the Tigers placed eighth overall in their first appearance in the state finals since 1976. The Tigers shot 360 both Friday and Saturday to finish the tournament with a two-day total of 720. Hamilton Southeastern captured the state title with a two-day team score of 669.

Johnson's 72-76-148 led the Tigers, and sophomore Jenny Manning was second on the team with a 92-94-186.

"Jenny Manning played two outstanding rounds out there," said LaLonde. "This is just an awesome group of girls, and they really had fun."

The team's lone senior, Katrina Bonahoom, finished her high school career with a two-day total of 192 after shooting a 98 Friday and a 92 Saturday.

Junior Mallory Hepler finished Friday's round with a 98 and Saturday's round with a 97, to total 195.

"This is Mallory Hepler's first year playing golf for us," said LaLonde. "She played volleyball the last two years and switched to golf this season. She came through and played well for us."

Jessica Sadler rounded out the Tiger lineup with a two-day total of 198. After struggling through a 102-round Friday, Sadler bounced back with a 96 Saturday.

"I'm sure the girls were sick of me telling them to stay steady," said LaLonde. "But the key for us was to stay focused and play steady. They played solid out there, they were focused and fought through the weather Friday. We have played very steady golf the past three weeks, I really stressed consistency. We shot the same team score Friday and Saturday, you can't get more consistent than that." [[In-content Ad]]