BEDFORD
Otis Park got the better of almost every girls golf team but Bedford North Lawrence’s on Friday.
Just two of six teams in the BNL Invitational scored under 400 strokes, while the Stars recorded three scores within the top-four finishes on the day.
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Bedford North Lawrence, the reigning sectional champion on its home turf, dominated the field with a combined 349.
Next was Bloomington North at 385 and North Harrison with 403.
Bloomington South totaled 414, while Brownstown Central’s 421 and Seymour’s 423 rounded out the field.
Bedford’s Bailee Gilmore, who claimed first at the Seymour Invitational on Wednesday, finished at the medalist with an even-par 72.
Senior Hannah Thompson led Seymour with a 95, tied for sixth place individually.
Thompson last played the course competitively in October, as she advanced individually to the regional.
“(Thompson) has done well here in the past,” Owls coach RaeAnn Wintin said. “I think that this is the best she has done here on 18 holes. Usually, she shoots about a 98.”
The next two lowest scores were from freshman Bridget Marshall at 100 — which tied for ninth best — and sophomores Maddie Wisler (110).
Rounding out the five on varsity were juniors Bailey Goben (118) and Andrea Axsom, (119).
Seymour also had two individual golfers play, with sophomore Jenna Ebler totaling 108 and freshman Laken Waskom’s 110.
On Wednesday, the Owls shot 399 at Shadowood.
“This course was a challenge today,” Wintin said. “We’re going to play here a few more times this season, so I hope to see our scores improve. I was kind of hoping we would improve from Wednesday, but that just wasn’t happening today.
“This is probably some of the best competition we will have. We will see some good teams at Champions Pointe next weekend and at (Hoosier Hills) Conference down the road at the end of August.”
With 10 girls on this year’s team, Wintin said there could be changes in the lineup as the season progresses.
“It’s going to make our team more competitive,” Wintin said of her numbers. “The order that I put them in was not how they scored. You just don’t know who is gonna play well every day. They know that they’re not locked-in to their position and they could move with the competition throughout the season.”
Brownstown also struggled at Otis, with none of their golfers shooting under 100 strokes.
In the No. 3 spot, senior Broenna Bottorff had the lowest 18-hole total with 103.
Juniors Shelby Stuckwisch (104) and Emma Zabor (106) came in next for the Braves.
KaCee Collins, a sophomore, carded 108, while junior Regan Campbell scored 115.
“I felt like our girls really struggled on and around the greens,” Braves coach Brandon Allman said. “They are really small greens, so if you’re missing your chips onto the greens it’s tough. We also struggled with the speeds on the greens, they were a little slow and then dried-out and got faster.”
Allman said that his team needs to work on the way they approach each hole.
“I’ve talked to a few of the girls about course management,” he said. “For example, hole No. 13 is straight up a hill. They were hitting with drivers into the side of the hill. With that steep of an incline it’s tough to hit the ball more than 10 to 15 yards. It’s something we need to get a grasp on.”
Both Brownstown and Seymour will host their first dual matches of their season Monday, with Mitchell coming to Hickory Hills and New Albany traveling to Shadowood.
“I want to see more consistency (Monday),” Allman said. “It’s tough because we won’t have another practice until then. The girls golf season is like a machine gun — it’s so short but we try to get a ton of matches in there.
“The matches are their practices. We want to stay competitive, but we treat nine-hole matches almost more like a practice. It’s time to work on things and get better. Ultimately we’re working towards (Mid-Southern) Conference and sectional.”