VERSAILLES – The Versailles girls golf team finished as the runner up on Friday when it hosted the 12-team Lady Tiger Tee invitational at Stillwater Valley Golf Club.
Versailles shot a 383 in the 18-hole tournament to finish nine strokes behind the champion, Tippecanoe, who shot a 372. Troy finished third with a 387, St. Henry was fourth with a 395, Russia finished fifth with a 414, Fort Loramie was sixth with a 416, Minster finished seventh with a 422, Arcanum was eighth with a 434, Bellefontaine finished ninth with a 485, New Bremen was 10th with a 497, Covington finished 11th with a 498, and Tri-Village was 12th with a 529.
Fort Loramie’s Emily Knouff was the tournament medalist as she shot a three-over-par 75 for the 18-hole round. Tippecanoe’s Tori Merrick finished second with an 80, Versailles’ Maddie Covault and Lauren Heitkamp tied for third with a 90, Tippecanoe’s Ally Chitwood was fifth with a 91, St. Henry’s Lauren Grieshop finished sixth with a 92, Troy’s Ali Helman was seventh with a 93, Minster’s Alli Fischer and Troy’s Lee Ann Black tied for eighth with a 94, and Arcanum’s Haleigh Shaffer finished 10th with a 95.
Covault and Lauren Heitkamp led Versailles with their rounds of 90. Also for the Lady Tigers, Lauren Durham shot a 97, Jorja Pothast shot a 106, Morgan Heitkamp shot a 130, and Anna Groff shot a 131.
Shaffer led Arcanum with her round of 95. Also for the Lady Trojans, Lexi Unger shot a 101, Madi O’Daniel shot a 115, Franchesca Hackworth shot a 123, Brenna Loxley shot a 124, and Sydney McAlister shot a 156.
Jenna Coffman led Tri-Village with a round of 115. Also for the Lady Patriots, Emma Campbell shot a 133, Becky O’Conner shot a 139, Paige Sloan shot a 139, Kina Hill shot a 142, and Julia Mellott shot a 160.
Versailles girls golf coach Joe Harrmann said he thought the tournament went real well. Kelly Norris and the staff at Stillwater Valley Golf Club did a great job hosting the invitational, Harrmann said, and the teams always have good feedback.
“A lot of the teams that come out here to play this is where the sectional is and so they get to see the sectional course for at least one 18-hole round and get a little preview of what to expect come sectional time,” Harrmann said.
Versailles is expecting big things this season, including advancing from the Ohio High School Athletic Association sectional tournament to districts, Harrmann said. The Tigers lost two players to graduation and one who decided not to play this year but return some key players.
“We’ve got four really solid players back from last year and added a lot of newcomers, a lot of freshmen and then one sophomore that came out,” Harrmann said. “So we’ve got good numbers, and the girls are working hard.”
Harrmann said Versailles has the talent to stack up well against the other teams in the area. The Tigers want each player to improve each match he said as they pursue a Midwest Athletic Conference championship and a spot in the district tournament.
“I definitely think that we have the talent to be up there in our league and hopefully get out of the sectional again,” he said.
