Due to the school start date for many competing schools, the Seymour Invitational was whittled down to a tri-meet Wednesday.
Only Madison and Scottsburg joined the Owls at Shadowood Golf Course for an important second 18-hole match of the season.
Seymour came away with all of the team and individual titles, shooting a 381 to win the meet and both Laken Waskom and Bridget Marshall carding 81s to take home co-medalist honors.
Yet, the biggest gain for the Owls was their 27-stroke drop from their performance at Bloomington Country Club.
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Seymour coach Jim Hoffman noted the course played much tougher Monday, especially the greens, but improvement is improvement, and that’s what he wants to see.
“We knocked 27 strokes off real quick, marked improvement on the upper end and my Nos. 1 and 2, Laken and Bridget, performed where they should," Hoffman said. "They should be the high 70s — low 80s at the worst — so big marked improvement. This is what we wanted to see — a big leap forward early.”
Hoffman said Marshall and Waskom battled through the mid-afternoon heat well and were strong on the back nine.
“They putted better, they chipped better and really just did everything better and they kept their heads," he said. "We still didn’t putt as good as we can, but we made marked improvements on that.”
His two top golfers weren’t the only players who finished strong, as Lainey Jackson, Phoebe Skidmore and Rylee Knutson all fared better or close to even on the back nine.
Jackson saw the biggest positive change, cutting eight strokes on the back nine compared to the front and finishing with a 104. Skidmore and Knutson rounded out the scoring with 115 and 118, respectively.
Though is wasn’t a multi-team invitational, the more of these types of matches the Owls can get under their belts, the better, especially with the postseason just around the corner.
"You can play two or three holes good, but playing 18 holes good is the key, and this helps us, especially moving forward to sectional and regional," Hoffman said. "They’re 18-hole events, and we have to be prepared for them.”
Hoffman said a few of his girls had never played 18 holes, and Wednesday was a good experience for them, specifically for their stamina. The meet started out cool enough, but as the day wore on, the conditions got tougher.
In spite of it, though, Hoffman was pleased with what he saw but expects improvement to continue as the season wares on.
“We need two in the mid-90s, and we need Bridget and Laken to perform like they can, and we can compete in the sectional and the regional, and moving forward, that’s our goal," Hoffman said. "We’re taking the big steps right now for September.”
The Owls return to the links Monday at Shadowood for a tri-meet with Salem and New Albany at 4:30 p.m.