NORTH VERNON
Postseason play is right around the corner for the Seymour girls golf team.
Next Monday is the Hoosier Hills Conference meet at Rising Sun Golf Course but, before they can focus on that, they needed to take care of business against league foes Madison and Jennings County.
Behind a 38 from Laken Waskom and a 41 from Bridgett Marshall, the Owls soared by their conference rivals with a team score of 191. Jennings County was just behind them with a 214 and Madison carded a 229.
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Waskom finished the match especially strong, birding the difficult par-5 No. 9 at St. Anne’s Golf Course. It was a nice bounce-back hole for Waskom, who was over on the previous two holes. She also had a birdie on hole No. 4, which is a par 3.
Marshall had one birdie on the day, going one-under on No. 6.
Seymour coach Jim Hoffman says the season has been a bit of a roller coaster ride and he’s hoping the scores continue to improve as sectional play approaches later this month.
"We’ve gotten better but we peaked a little bit earlier in the season," Hoffman said. "We picked it up again tonight. Tonight was a good night at a course the girls don’t normally play at and the greens were pretty tough."
Lainey Jackson and Phoebe Skidmore each had a 56 for the Owls and Rylee Knutson rounded out the scoring with a 66.
Hoffman says his girls continue to work on the little things each day at practice. Chipping, putting, approaches and anything else they’ll need to succeed once the state tournament starts are always in need of improvement.
However, he says his players have made great strides with their mentality and believes it’s one of their better attributes right now.
On hot, late-summer days like Monday, where the heat can take its toll, having the right mindset can work wonders.
"We’re getting smarter," Hoffman said. "Instead of hitting at the pins, we’re understanding to land it short and let it run up. Just the whole general using our heads instead of going out and just swinging the golf club."
A good mindset could also help the Owls once postseason play starts where the temperatures are typically high.
The Owls quickly return to action Wednesday playing host to the Bloomington South Panthers. Players are set to tee off at 4 p.m. at Shadowood Golf Course.
After that, they’ll turn their attention to conference play next Monday at 9 a.m. Hoffman says their focus is on excelling in the postseason but they also really want to do well at Rising Sun.
He feels they’ve made a lot of progress in catching Bedford North Lawrence and Floyd Central, the two teams that should give the Owls the most fight for the team crown.