KENDALLVILLE - Neither of their teams advanced to the state finals, but Bob Turner and Scott DeHart found it hard not be excited following Saturday's East Noble girls golf regional at Cobblestone Golf Club in Kendallville.
Both the Warsaw Tigers and Wawasee Warriors carded their best 18-hole scores of the season, as Turner's Warsaw team finished fourth in the 12-team regional with a four-person score of 348 and DeHart's Wawasee squad finished ninth with a score of 363.
"We played the best we have all season," said Turner, whose Tigers will return four of the five golfers in Saturday's lineup next season. "We've gotten better all season. I'm very proud of the girls. They all did the best they could."
The DeKalb Barons won the team championship with a score of 322, followed in the top five by Plymouth (339), Norwell (341), Warsaw (348) and Carroll (355).
East Noble and Homestead tied for sixth with scores of 356, while Norwell (358), Wawasee (363), Elkhart Memorial (369), Bellmont (372) and NorthWood (395) rounded out the field.
"We played a great round today," said DeHart. "We did what we're capable of doing. There's just a couple of teams over here that were better than us, but I'm very proud of the way the girls played. This is the best 18-hole score we've shot all season, and we were playing our best golf at the right time of the season, I'm very happy about that."
The Warriors' previous best 18-hole score of the season was a 377, which they shot in the first tournament of the season at LaFontaine in Huntington.
The Tigers' previous best 18-hole round of the season came last week in the sectional at Stonehenge, where they shot 355.
Warsaw's round of 177 on the front nine Saturday was also a team best, bettering the 178 the Tigers shot in the final home match of the season against Manchester.
The top three teams, as well as the top three individuals not on an advancing team, qualified for Friday's first round of the state finals at Legends of Indiana in Franklin.
Advancing as individuals from Saturday's regional at Cobblestone were Ashley Kees of Carroll (73), Kaylee Imel of Norwell (75) and Goshen's Lynn Weaver (76).
Whitko's Kelsea Visalli competed at the regional as an individual and carded an 83, shooting a 40 on the front and a 43 o the back.
Wawasee senior Taylor Goshert missed advancing to the state finals by one stroke, as she led the Warriors with a 77.
Other scores four Wawasee included Krista Zurcher's 85, Alexis Linnemeier's 97, Cortney Rassi's 104 and Paige Geer's 109.
"I'm very happy," DeHart said of his team's performance. "That's where we're at. We played our best golf at the end of the season, and I couldn't be happier."
Audrey Petro led Warsaw with an 83, while Kayla Hutcherson carded an 85, Sarah Hartle shot 87, Alyssa Cameron turned in a 93 and Kristina Cripe shot 108.
Cripe is the only senior on the Tigers.
"I'm disappointed we didn't get out, but I'm also very happy," said Turner. "We made a good showing. The kids all did the best they could."
Norwell's Kristen Springer highlighted the day with a hole-in-one on No. 12.
DEKALB 322, PLYMOUTH 339, LEO 341, WARSAW 348, CARROLL 355, EAST NOBLE 356, HOMESTEAD 356, NORWELL 358, WAWASEE 363, ELKHART MEMORIAL 369, BELLMONT 372, NORTHWOOD 395
