NEO Shines in State Championships

Over three days in opposite corners of Ohio, girls golf teams from the Northeast District put up eye opening performances, wowed large crowds, and proved how competitive they are. Magnificat won their second state championship in three years as they outlasted Dublin Jerome at NCR Country Club in Dayton to take home the Division 1 title. Closer to home in Akron, three Northeast teams finished in the top 5 in the state.

Magnificat took an eight stroke lead on Walsh Jesuit and a nine stroke lead over Dublin Jerome in the first round, led by a one under par round from sophomore Korrine Knaze. The Blue Streaks came into the second round knowing they just needed to stay with Walsh and Jerome to bring home the championship. They ended up beating the Celtics by four shots and the Warriors by 27 as they beat their previous day total by nine shots. Calli Reed exploded for a three under par round of 67, vaulting her into a top five finish. The Blue Streaks shot 301 on the first day and 292 on the second day to capture the title. Calli Reed’s fourth place finish was followed by Korrine Knaze’s seventh place. Kayla Knaze was 11th overall, followed by Kellan Gleason who tied for 28th and Miahbella Caserio at a time for 68th. Congratulations to Coach Danny Gallagher and the Magnificat Blue Streaks on winning the OHSAA State Championship!

Walsh Jesuit had a great start to the event as they surprised a lot of people with a team score of 309. They followed it up with a more than respectable 319 to end up in fourth place as a team. They were led by Sarah Vojtko, who tied for fifth place individually, and Vivian Eich, who tied for 12th. Yumi Kohara ended in 27th place, while Brooke Tercek finished in a tie for 54th and Charlotte Higley tied for 61st.

Canfield played well on the first day as they shot 343 but really settled in to improve by 17 and shoot 326 the second day. That was good enough for an 8th place finish for the Cardinals. Junior Laney Kleeh gained some more valuable experience as she led the Cardinals with a score of ten over par across the two rounds. Seniors Aubree Philibin and Alex Conley fittingly finished right next to each other in the standings with Philibin finishing 41st and Conley finishing 42nd. Sophia DiDomenico brought home 60th place and Ryloh Turpack ended in 67th.

Hoover put up consistent scores of 335 and 337 respectively and were awarded 9th place in the state. Their superstar Ellie Hutzler had an amazing first day as she shot one over par. She ended up finishing in 15th place. Frankie Hutzler ended up tied for 43rd in her last tournament playing with her big sister. Lauren Kemp was right behind with a 45th place finish, while Gia Remark ended up in 57th and Abigail Duke tied for 63rd.

Anuja Patel of Orange High School was incredibly consistent shooting two consecutive even par rounds of 70. Those rounds clinched a runner up finish for her, finishing behind only Jodie Han from Olentangy, who had a record breaking tournament shooting a total of 11 under par over the two days. Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble of Brunswick also proved to be a model of consistency, shooting equal scores of 73, which got her into the top ten on the leaderboard, finishing tied for ninth. Elena Varga of Hudson continued the trend as she mirrored her first day score of 77 on the second day. She ended up sitting at 21st on the leaderboard. Saijal Jawa of Hathaway Brown scored 75 on Monday and 81 on Tuesday and earned a tie for 24th place.

In Division 2, Columbus Academy ran away with the tournament and won their fifth consecutive state championship, winning by an incredible 87 shots over the two days at Firestone Country Club’s Fazio Course.

Chagrin Falls represented Northeast Ohio with a runner up finish. Their scores of 348 and 354 put them in second place by five strokes. As has been typical of the Tigers, they were paced by junior Elizabeth Pollock, whose 11 over par finish got her into 7th place. Ella Catney finished tied for 29th place and Natalie Venorsky tied for 33rd. Rounding out the scoring were Kate Murphy in a tie for 36th and Lyla Mihalek in a tie for 46th. The Tigers were led by first year coach Tom Porten.

Southeast finished just behind Chagrin Falls as they shot 360 on Sunday and improved to 347 on Monday, good enough for third place. The Pirates had a balanced attack and were led by Samantha Morgan’s 14 over par finish, which put her in a tie for 10th place. Jennifer Mix tied for 29th and right behind her was Emily Morrison who finished alone in 32nd place. Kristen Dillon’s 41st place finish and Lily Hayes’ 67th place finish rounded out the scoring.

Keystone played similar to Chagrin Falls, shooting better on the second day. Their scores of 361 and 352 led them to a fifth place finish. Sophia Clarico paced the Wildcats with rounds of ten over par and three over par, earning a tie for eighth place. Caseabella Fye added a 27th place finish and Kennedy Accavallo tied for 29th. Annamarie Vilchez contributed a 55th place finish and Chloe Rumancik tied for 58th.

Avery Robinette of Champion was in second place after day one shooting a one over par 71. She followed up on day two with a 73, which put her into third place. She finished five shots behind Madeira’s Ellie Harting and two back of Garaway’s Kylie Miller. Olivia Norris improved by eleven shots from the first day to the second. The junior at Lakeview ended in 19th place. Savannah Turek from Mineral Ridge scored 92 and 96 as she earned 38th place.