BEDFORD— It was a hot one on Saturday in Bedford, locked in the hilly terrain of Southern Indiana for the 2024 IHSAA Girls’ Golf Sectionals at Otis Park Golf Course.

Seymour, Brownstown Central, and Trinity Lutheran all competed looking to advance to the regional at Country Oaks Golf Club in Washington.

The Lady Owls and Lady Braves made the cut finishing in second and third place to punch their ticket in the next round of the postseason.

Seymour recorded a team score of 391, while Brownstown Central had a 403, 40 strokes ahead of fourth place Eastern Greene. Bedford North Lawrence won the meet with a score of 340.

BNL’s Sammie Nusbaum earned medalist honors with an 82 on her home course. The Stars had four of the top five finishers in the competition.

The Lady Owls were led by sophomore Shana Spray’s 88, who shaved 19 strokes off her sectional performance in 2023. Senior Katie Cottrill followed with a 94, while Emmy Followell carded a 99. Emily Windley finished with a 110 and Caroline Dennis ended her round with a 110.

Seymour Assistant Coach Brian Tidd spoke on the regional clinching performance on Saturday.

“They played pretty good,” Tidd said. “I was very proud of the girls for fighting through the heat and hilly terrain of Otis Park.”

Tidd thinks some minor improvements from 100-yards in could really benefit the Lady Owls in the upcoming regional.

“If we clean up our shots from 100 yards in, especially around the greens, they could shoot a lower score at Regionals than they did on Saturday,” he said.

Brownstown Central had their low score from Khloe Lingenfelter (91), followed by Abby Schroer and Jayda Clodfelder, who both carded a 93.

Claire Brelage recorded a 126, while Mairi Shaw finished with a 129 for the Lady Braves.

The performance was good enough to clinch the final regional spot and send Brownstown back to Country Oaks for the second-straight season as a team.

Lady Braves Head Coach Brandon Allman was pleased with the performance from Brownstown.

“I really thought our girls persevered Saturday; that might have been the warmest sectional on record,” Allman said. “Makes it even tougher with the hills at Otis Park. That is why I think you saw scores higher than expected. Extremely proud of my top three girls.”

Lingenfelter, Schroer and Clodfelder had their best sectional round.

“All three of them fired their low sectional score,” Allman said. “Khloe knocked off 9 shots from last year and Abby and Jayda both cut 10 shots each.Both Claire and Mairi were seeing their first sectional action and they just struggled to get in any type of rhythm.”

The leadership and play from Lingenfelter, Schroer and Clodfelder have led Brownstown all season long.

The extra step of working on their game when no one else is watching has helped the Lady Braves according to Allman.

“My top three have put in a lot more time working on their game than previous years and that’s what it takes in the game of golf,” Allman said. “Our girls have had a positive mindset all season long and haven’t let things bother them too often. They really seem to all get along well and have bonded. That has helped them to push each other as well.”

Trinity first-year student Jennifer Jones kicked off the Sectional, teeing off in the first group with Mitchell’s Kylee Merry. Jones ended her day with a 72-65-137, ending her first season of varsity golf for the Cougars. She would score better than her groupmate in the event.

Trinity Lutheran Head Coach Brooks Thoele spoke about the outing.

“Today was a little bit rough,” Thoele said. “The heat came on pretty quickly and sapped her energy. She still made several good swings, but unfortunately, the short game just wasn’t clicking.”

Jones has improved in many aspects of the game throughout this season. Thoele is encouraged with her growth throughout this year.

“Even though today wasn’t the most desirable finish, I am still very pleased with her growth on the season,” Thoele said. “I’ve seen enough to know that she is capable of becoming a competitor over the next couple of seasons.”

The regional competition will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday at Country Oaks Golf Club.

Sectional Golf — Otis Park Golf Course

Team Scores

1, Bedford North Lawrence, 340. 2, Seymour, 391. 3, Brownstown Central, 403. 4, Eastern Greene, 443. 5, Mitchell, 485. 6, West Washington, 511. 7, White River Valley, 516.

Seymour Individual Scores: 1, Shana Spray, 88. 2, Katie Cottrill, 94. 3, Emmy Followell, 99. 4, Emily Windley, 110. 5, Caroline Dennis, 115.

Brownstown Central Individual Scores: 1, Khloe Lingenfelter, 91. T-2, Abby Schroer, 93. T-2, Jayda Clodfelder, 93. 4, Claire Brelage, 126. 5, Mairi Shaw, 129.

Trinity Lutheran Individual Scores: 1, Jennifer Jones, 137.