Girls golf: Dixon advances team; Bureau Valley, Rock Falls, Morrison pass individuals through Class 1A Rock Falls Regional

DEER GROVE – It was a big day for Dixon girls golf at the Class 1A Rock Falls Regional on Thursday at Deer Valley Golf Club, as well as for three Sauk Valley area individuals who kept their state championship hopes alive for at least one more week.

Dixon junior Katie Drew was the top area golfer, sinking three birdies on the front nine on her way to a third-place finish with an 81. Ridgewood’s Gracie Russell was the individual champ with a 76, and Kewanee’s Mya Mirocha earned the runner-up finish with a 77.

“I definitely had a rocky start, but I’m glad to pull it together on the back and figure it out, and make it through,” Drew said. “I was getting off the tee really well, struggled a little bit around the greens, but the main goal today was to make it through, so I’m glad to have done that.”

[ Photos from the 1A Rock Falls Regional girls golf tournament ]

Drew was even more excited to have a teammate qualify for the Class 1A Kewanee Sectional with her, before learning later that her entire team would be making the trip to Baker Park Golf Course on Monday.

“Really excited [to advance to sectionals], especially that I have a teammate to make it through – that really makes me happy. So I look forward to watching her play next Monday, and hopefully, both of us can advance to state,” she said.

Drew’s freshman teammate, Reese Dambman, carded a 91 for sixth place. Early on, she admitted, it was a little bit of a struggle. But as she progressed through the round, she got increasingly comfortable and was able to work her way up the leaderboard. A birdie on the front nine and a long putt on the back nine helped solidify her top-6 finish.

“Honestly, I thought it was going to be pretty rough, just because of how it started, but I pulled through and got it done,” Dambman said. “[My strongest aspect was] Definitely getting it off the tee, as well as Katie, but putting was definitely a struggle.

“It feels really good [to be advancing to sectionals]. I can watch [Katie] and learn from her. It feels good that I’m a freshman, too. It’s cool.”

For a good portion of the regional meet, the Duchesses were right on the fringe, sitting in fourth or fifth. But when the final results came in, their score solidified at 421 and ultimately sealed a third-place finish to advance the whole team to sectionals.

Kiana Olalde (124), Zoey Williams (125) and Saida Bajrami (145) also competed for Dixon on Thursday, and will join Drew and Dambman at the Kewanee Sectional on Monday.

Geneseo’s 382 netted it first place in the team standings, while Kewanee’s 406 was good for second.

Rock Falls senior Cheyenne Hansen and Morrison freshman Sarah Wetzell were the lone golfers from their respective teams, but both advanced by their own merit with top-21 finishes in the 67-golfer field. Hansen shot a 103 for 13th, and Wetzell shot a 115 and won a playoff against Orion’s Emily Olson, Princeton’s Emma Kruse-Carter and Alleman’s Samantha Klauer to secure a final spot in the individual qualifier group.

“I tried, but I could’ve done better. I had some bad holes. My tee shots weren’t great today,” Hansen said. “My fairway shots were probably the best [part of my game] today. I had two pars, some bogeys.”

“[I feel] Really good [about making it to sectionals] because that’s my goal. I accomplished making it past regionals, and on to sectionals, so I’m happy about that. I’m just going to keep working hard and hopefully try to make it to state.”

Bureau Valley senior Callie Schoff was the other individual sectional qualifier from the area, shooting a 100 to tie for 10th with Geneseo’s Taylor VanHoutte.

“I felt pretty good. There was some rough spots in there definitely, but overall, I felt really good about it,” Schoff said. “I was pretty proud of my drives, that was definitely a good start to it. I had a few good putts. On my first hole, it was a par 5, I ended up getting par, probably a 10-foot putt. Some good ones like that.

“It feels pretty good [to be advancing to sectionals]. I’ve been working on this for about four years now, so it feels pretty dang good.”

Bureau Valley placed eighth out of 12 teams with a 470. Also competing for the Storm were Cassidy Peterson, who shot a 120; Layne Sproston, who fired a 123; Lynzie Cady, who tallied a 127; Constance Gibson, who chipped in a 129; and Matalyn Michlig, who added a 133.

Erie-Prophetstown finished ninth with a 488. Taylor Wilson was the leading Panther with a 118, Lillian McWilliams and McKenzie Winckler shot matching 123s, Isabella Johnston and Jaelin Hawkins shot matching 124s, and Hannah Huisman added a 137.

Amboy came in 12th with a 614. Competing for the Clippers were Andrea Buhrow (139), Emma Dinges (139), Greta Horner (161) and Gracee Holmgren (175).