Girls golf: Dixon’s Drew, Oregon’s Hackman qualify for state at Class 1A Kewanee Sectional

KEWANEE – History was repeated for Dixon junior Katie Drew and Oregon senior Ava Hackman on Monday at the Class 1A Kewanee Sectional at Baker Park Golf Course, as both golfers secured return trips to Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur on Friday and Saturday for the IHSA Class 1A Girls State Golf Tournament.

Drew, who took third last week at the Class 1A Rock Falls Regional with an 81, shot another 81 to finish in a three-way tie for seventh, and qualify for state for the third year in a row. A couple of long putts for par and a birdie on the fourth hole helped cement her spot in the individual qualifier group.

“I definitely started off rocky, but got it back on track, so happy to end how it ended,” Drew said. “I was getting off the tee really well today, and I was putting really well. A couple things to work on before this weekend, but I’m excited to get to head down to state.”

Although she technically qualified for state as a freshman, Drew was unable to compete because the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, in her second year of qualifying, she’s excited for the chance to improve on her previous performance in Decatur.

“I qualified my freshman year, but we didn’t get to play because of COVID, and then last year, I got to play,” Drew said. “So I’m happy to get to go down and try and better what I did last year.”

Dixon coach Lee Eastman was happy to see his top golfer reach the state tournament again, especially as a firsthand witness to the work she’s put in behind the scenes.

“I’m extremely excited for her making it. I know she put in a lot of time this year,” he said.

Hackman, who tied for sixth last week at the Rockford Boylan Regional with an 87, hovered around 15th place in the standings with an 84 near the end of the tournament, right on the borderline of qualifying. But as the final scores rolled in, her spot on the leaderboard elevated to a tie for 13th, and her spot at the state tournament was secured for the second year in a row – and second time in her high school career.

Hackman shot a 40 on the front nine, with a birdie on the par-5 third hole. She then closed out the back nine in crazy fashion, scoring eagles on the par-4 16th and par-5 18th around a quadruple bogey on the par-four 17th for a 44.

“I thought my front nine was pretty good. I was very happy with that. And my back nine, I was kind of struggling a little bit, but then I felt really good when I got the two eagles in there,” Hackman said. “I think my drives and my putting were pretty good today. I worked a lot on my putting, so it paid off.”

Qualifying for state as a senior is especially meaningful for Hackman.

“I’m very happy,” she said. “I’m really excited because this is my senior year, so I’m glad I get to experience it again for the last time.”

Hackman’s senior teammate, Lexy Davis, shot a 97 to finish in an eight-way tie for 38th.

Rock Falls senior Cheyenne Hansen improved on her 103 at the Rock Falls Regional, firing a 99 for a five-way tie at 49th, matching Polo senior Kamryn Stockton in the 106-golfer field.

Bureau Valley senior Callie Schoff finished in a three-way tie for 64th, carding a 103, while Morrison freshman Sarah Wetzell and Dixon freshman Zoey Williams shot matching 118s to end in a three-way tie for 99th.

As a team, Dixon shot 439 and placed 12th out of 12 teams. Freshman Reese Dambman was the second-best Duchess, shooting a 96 for a five-way tie at 33rd. Dixon sophomore Kiana Olalde also competed, shooting a 144 for 106th.

With two-thirds of its roster comprised of newcomers, Dixon managed to exceed expectations this year, Eastman said.

“We only had two returning golfers, so we had four new girls, and we came a long way,” he said. “We actually wouldn’t have dreamed it, but we got third place in the regionals with a respectable score, so we’re really looking forward to what we can do next year with this young team.”

Rockford Boylan tallied a 332 as the first-place team, Peoria Notre Dame was the runner-up with 334, and Morton came in third with a 359.