Seneca junior Piper Stenzel didn’t get off to the start she was hoping for — two consecutive bogeys — in Monday’s Class 1A Pontiac Sectional at Wolf Creek Golf Club.

“I was a little nervous with that start, but I was able to birdie No. 3 and get back on track,” Stenzel said. “After that second hole I just took the time before teeing off to gather my thoughts and get myself calmed down. I was nervous starting today. I just told myself ‘Let it go’ and just moved on.”

Stenzel carded an 81 to finish third individually behind only champion Meredith Yung (77) of Monmouth United and runner-up Elle Filarski (79) of Tri-Valley and punch her ticket to a third straight state tournament at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur on Friday and Saturday.

Tri-Valley (348) won the team title, with Monmouth United (349) and Macomb (368) also advancing as teams.

“I hit my driver today better than I have all season, nearly perfect,” Stenzel said. “I’ve struggled with it this season and I was all over the place from day to day, but today I was in control.

“As long as I get my Starbucks strawberry acai with peach juice and lemonade refresher, I’ll be ready to go [at state]. I’m excited for another chance.”

Dwight senior Isabella Dinelli will also be making the trip to state for a second straight season after finishing with an 85, good for eighth place.

“My drives were fantastic, easily the best part of my game today,” Dinelli said. “My putting would be right up there too and that is something that have been a problem for me. I guess I’d put my iron play right up there as well, I really hit them, long and short, good today. I feel like the time I put in at the range really helped me play as well as I did today.

“I felt really good right from the start, but around the fifth hole I really started to feel locked in. I wanted to come here today and play a steady, consistent round from start to finish and I did that.”

Dinelli advanced to state last season after surviving a sectional playoff.

“Last year I went to state with the thought ‘Should I even be here?’” Dinelli said. ”But this year I feel I proved myself and to myself that I deserve to be there. I’m just going to go and do the best I can and see what happens."

Seneca junior Vivienne Cronkrite finished 26th with a 91, just three strokes off being part of a playoff for the final individual qualifying spot but was excited about how she played.

“My drives were pretty good and consistent today, and that’s part of my game that I’ve been struggling with since the middle of the season,” Cronkrite said. “I was hitting drives to the right and then over corrected and started hitting left but I figured it out today. I just had too many putts I should have made, and I feel like much of that was due to me not taking enough time to think them through.

“While I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t advance, I’m really happy with my score. Honestly, I came here today hoping to shoot around 100 and mentally my goal was to shoot in the low 90s, so I met that goal.”

Shaw Media coverage-area players missing the cut included St. Bede senior Anna Cyrocki (37th, 96), Seneca senior Camryn Stecken (52nd, 99), Princeton junior Hanna Claiborne (59th, 100) and sophomore Illyana Jones (61st, 101), St. Bede senior Mae Hagenbuch (71st, 103) and freshman Aliyanna Arteaga (75th, 104), Dwight freshman Brooklin Trainor (98th, 117) and Marquette junior Lillian Pollnow (99th, 117).