State Girls Golf Championships Preview, Apparel & Program Download

THE STATE MEET: The 49th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls State Golf Championships will be held Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 12-13, at The Meadows Valley Course at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis. Competition will begin at 8:30 a.m. on both days. Sunday practice tee time assignments are available on the girls golf homepage of the WIAA website.

COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS: In efforts to mitigate the risk of contracting the virus by limitiing exposure, attendance at the event will be restricted to five spectators per participant.

STATE MEET STREAMED LIVE: The 10th and 18th holes of the WIAA State Girls Golf Championships will be streamed live without subscription on the NFHS Network at nfhsnetwork.com/associations/wiaa-wi or WIAA.tv. The stream is sponsored by the American Family Insurance Championships to be held June 11-13, 2021 at University Ridge in Madison, Wis.

STATE SOUVENIR PROGRAMS ONLINE: The souvenir programs for the 2020 fall State culminating events are available online and available to download and print at no cost. The complete State Girls Golf Championships program with rosters of qualifiers, history and schedule information can be accessed beginning Friday at:www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Publications/Programs/2020girlsgolf.pdf.

ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel is available online for the 2020 State Girls Golf Championships. To browse and purchase branded merchandise, visit the WIAA Store at:https://wiaagolf20.itemorder.com/sale. Limited items and sizes will be available at the site for purchase. Online purchases will be shipped after the online store closes on Thursday, Oct. 15.

THE FORMAT: The revised competition format features two divisions with eight qualifying teams and an additional 12 individual qualifiers competing in Division 1, and six teams and an additional nine individual qualifiers participating in Division 2. Competitors play 36 holes, weather permitting, including 18 holes on each day. The lowest scores from the first day will have the later tee times Tuesday.

BY THE NUMBERS: There were 128 teams sponsoring girls golf this fall with 121 participating in the tournament series, including 66 in Division 1 and 55 in Division 2. There were 46 teams declared to participate in the alternative girls golf season in the spring, an opportunity provided to fall sports in response to local participation concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED: The State Tournament field of teams and individuals is comprised of the first two teams and the top three individuals, who are not members of a qualifying team, in each of the four Division 1 sectionals and the three Division 2 sectionals.

TEAMS COMPETING: The schools qualifying for the State meet in Division 1 are Arrowhead, Brookfield Central, Cedarburg, Hortonville, Kettle Moraine, Notre Dame, Tomah and Waunakee. The team qualifiers in Division 2 are Edgewood, Freedom, Lakeside Lutheran, Prescott, St. Croix Central and The Prairie School.

DIVISION 1 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: The 12 individuals who have qualified for the State meet in Division 1 are freshman Madison Haugen of Brookfield East, senior Claire Fugate of Franklin, junior Lauren Ambrookian of Hamilton, senior Madeline Kiley of Kimberly, juniors Lanie Veenendall and Sydney Nolan of New Richmond, senior Amber Nguyen of Onalaska, senior Samantha Pendowski of Slinger, sophomore Norah Roberts of Union Grove, senior Jasmine Yang of Wausau East/West, and freshmen Kylie and Katelyn Walker of Westosha Central

DIVISION 2 INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS: The nine individual qualifiers in Division 2 are junior Hallie Tulip of Arcadia/Independence, senior Ashley Stanislawski of Catholic Memorial, senior Faith Flynn of Green Bay NEW Lutheran, senior Jackie Wallin of Ladysmith, senior Morgan Cooley and freshman Brianna Kirsch of Lancaster, sophomores Lydia Jensen and Elli Anderson of Regis/Altoona, and senior Lauren Haen of Xavier.

LAST YEAR: Middleton captured the Division 1 State team title for the third time in program history with a 36-hole score of 651. Brookfield Central was runner-up at 664, and 2018 champion Kettle Moraine was third at 665. Jo Baranczyk of Bay Port was the individual medalist for the second year in a row by shooting a 36-hole score of 149. Sarah Balding of Brookfield Central finished a stroke behind with a second-place score of 148. Edgewood won its second straight Division 2 crown and its 15th overall. The Crusaders finished with a score of 702. Prescott placed a distant second with a score of 773. Grace Welch of Edgewood won individual medalist honors by shooting a 158, and Ava Salay of Prescott placed second with a 166.

INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 1: Three of the top 10 finishers from last year are back competing for medalist honors. Junior Sarah Balding of Brookfield Central seeks to improve on her runner-up finish from a year ago. She returns to the State Meet for the third straight season, finishing 52nd as a freshman. Senior Elise Hoven of Cedarburg returns to the meet after finishing third a year ago, one stroke behind Balding, Hoven is also a three-time qualifier, placing 42nd in 2018. Another returning golfer that placed in the top 10 last year is senior Reagan Stuke of Kettle Moraine. She is back after placing in a tie for 10th. In addition to Balding and Hoven, the sectional champions competing to be in the mix for medalist honors are sophomore Grace Durkin of Notre Dame, who won the Notre Dame sectional, and junior Lanie Veenendall of New Richmond, who captured the title of the Tomah Sectional.

INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW-DIVISION 2: Four of the top 10 finishers from a year ago return to contend for the individual championship, including last season’s runner-up. Sophomore Ava Salay of Prescott earned the silver medal as a freshman at last year’s State Meet. Junior Sally Vangsness of St. Croix Central is back after finishing in a tie for sixth last season. A pair of experienced Edgewood teammates should also contend for the crown. Senior Caitlyn Hegenbarth qualifies for the fourth time, finishing eighth last year, fifth in 2018 and 10th in 2017. Senior Grace Jaeger is also a four-time qualifier, having placed 15th last season, third in 2018 and 15th in 2017. Senior Lauren Haen of Xavier is also a four-time qualifier with sights on a State title. She tied for ninth last season after tying for eighth in 2018 and placing 23rd in 2017, Senior Maya Heckmann of Lakeside Lutheran has finished just outside the top 10 in recent years and won the Arcadia Sectional ahead of Hegenbarth and Jaeger. She tied for 11th last season and was 12th in 2018. The other sectional champions were Salay and junior Callie Berg of Freedom, who finished tied for 17th last year,

THROUGH THE YEARS: In the first 48 years of the girls golf championships, Edgewood has won the most team championships with 15, all coming since 2001. The Crusaders won two championships when only one division was offered in 2001-02 and the first seven Division 2 titles from 2003-09. They added to their total with championships from 2011-14 and again the last two seasons. Madison West and La Crosse Central are tied for the second-most team titles with five. The Regents won the first five championships offered from 1972-76. The Red Raiders won four consecutive State titles from 1990-93 and added their fifth in 1998. Appleton West, Arrowhead and Homestead have won four team championships. Osceola has crowned the most individual medalists with eight, and Madison Memorial is next in line with six individual champions.

NEED CREDENTIALS?: Media credentials for the 2020 WIAA Girls Golf Championships must be requested by submitting the request from the restricted media area of the WIAA website by noon Friday, Oct. 9. Credentials can be picked up upon arrival in the media work area at Blackwolf Run. No credentials will be issued in advance.

NEED RESULTS?: Results are available on the WIAA website. Select the link on the Girls Golf State Tournament page to access the GolfStat results link for each division.

ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel is available online for the 2020 State Girls Golf Championships. To browse and purchase branded merchandise, visit the WIAA Store at: https://wiaagolf20.itemorder.com/sale. Limited items and sizes will be available at the site for purchase. Online purchases will be shipped after the online store closes on Thursday, Oct. 15.

FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Girls Golf Championships on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistatewith the hashtag #wiaagolf. Also like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram at wiaawi, and add us on Snapchat at wiaawis.

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Jimmie Kaska

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