JE Good Park Golf Course in Akron, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, was the stage on Wednesday for the girls Northeast District Championship tournament in Division 2. The course routing has not changed much over those hundred years, but the trees have definitely matured. Winning at Good Park means navigating through the huge oak trees that line most of the fairways and figuring out some tricky greens along the hilly Akron property.

The Keystone Wildcats handled the narrow corridors at Good Park perfectly as they won the school’s first ever District Championship. “We felt all along we had a very good chance to make it to States,” head coach Dave Slee said. “I don’t usually check scores until we get to about hole 14,” he mentioned. “When I checked our scores and we had a nice lead we felt pretty comfortable but most of the girls didn’t want to hear anything until they finished.” Keystone was led by sophomore phenom Sophia Clarico, who has quickly become one of the top players in Northeast Ohio. Clarico’s seven over par 78 was good enough for 4th place individually and was plenty enough to lead her team to the tournament victory. Caseabella Fye played in the fourth spot in the lineup but shot Keystone’s second best score with an 85, which was also her best round of the year according to Slee. Alexis Askew shot 87 and Kennedy Accavallo added an 89 to complete Keystone’s impressive round of 339. Abriella Schnell shot 96 to round out the scoring for the Wildcats. Slee attributed his team’s success to both process and offseason work. “There wasn’t one big moment that made us feel that we would win but a whole day of very solid golf was played by all five girls. This team spent most of their summer playing tournament and league golf. They never let up during the season and making it to the state tournament has been their goal since last season. We are thrilled to be here and look forward to seeing what they can accomplish next week.” Keystone will head to Heatherwoode Golf Club in Springboro to compete in the State Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Joining the Wildcats will be the Chagrin Falls Tigers, who will be playing in the State Tournament for the second straight season. Chagrin Falls used the same formula as Keystone to play a stellar round of golf. Their superstar sophomore is Elizabeth Pollock, who was the tournament medalist, shooting an impressive three over par 74. Pollock had four birdies, including three on the back nine, as she led all scorers. Head Coach Kristin Reboul speaks very highly of her top athlete. “She inspires everyone with her dedication, strong work ethic, and kindness,” Reboul said. Natalie Vernosky added an 88, Kate Murphy shot 93, and Ella Catney carded 96 to complete Chagrin Falls’ team sore of 351. Lainey Holmes shot 100 for the Tigers. “Three of the players were part of last year’s squad,” Reboul explained, “and that experience has fueled their motivation since the very beginning of the season.” As is usually the case, effort and attitude were the factors that led to Chagrin’s success. “At Good Park, the team energy was fantastic,” stated Reboul. “Each player stayed positive, managed their games on the tight course with great club selections and never gave up.”

Anuja Patel walked up to the tee knowing she would need to go low in order to make her own personal second trip to the State Tournament. Patel, a junior from Orange High School, was last year’s medalist with a 70. She didn’t go quite as low this year, but her experience at the District Tournament proved valuable as she shot 75 and easily advanced. “She got off to a solid start playing very smart golf putting her ball in great spots to get birdie looks,” Coach Cody Kovach explained. “Around the middle of her round a couple of unfortunate 3 putts on some fast greens frustrated her. And although she bent she didn’t break and finished strong in her typical fashion finishing last 6 at even par.” Was Anuja happy with her round? Not really, according to Kovach. “She would likely say not really. Anuja’s level of preparation and her expectations are unlike any athlete I’ve had to privilege to coach. My role with her is more to keep things into perspective and remind her in many cases she isn’t playing as bad as she feels when these situations will arise.” When those times come, mental toughness comes into play. “It’s golf, so sometimes the outcome will sting and all we can do is move onto the next hole,” said Kovach. “She has said before regardless of the situation (whether she is at the top or bottom of the leaderboard) she is always going to play her best golf. With this attitude and hopefully a few putts that fall for her she can finish where she wants to at Heatherwoode.”

Edgewood High School had a difficult year that was plagued by team injuries. They were back to full strength by the time Sectionals arrived, but the team fell just short of qualifying through the most difficult Division 2 Sectional in the state at Punderson Golf Course. Senior Annie Johnston had to qualify for the District Tournament on her own, which she did alongside freshman teammate Payton Lamson. Johnston played a career round at Good Park and qualified for the State Tournament by shooting a 77. She has been a staple of Edgewood’s recent success and according to coach Christina Fischer, she deserves the honor. “Annie struggled a little the first few holes with a double bogey, par, bogey to begin her round,” Fischer stated. “Once she strung five pars together, we knew that she was in the zone and that her going to state could be a reality. Her second nine began with a birdie on hole number one followed by 2 pars. She gave one back on hole number 4, but it was a tough pin placement on the par three.” Then the round got special. “The turning point for me, and probably her, was her eagle from 80 yards out on hole number 5. She followed it up with a great par on number 6. By that time, the field was really down to Anuja and Annie.” But there was more going on than just a two person race. “The other thing we were keeping an eye on was the team scores. Keystone and Chagrin were in command for the most part, but Chagrin slipped a bit towards the end and our fear was that if Southeast was able to get the second team spot, Chagrin’s Elizabeth Pollock would be the number one individual moving Annie down to #3 behind Anuja.” Chagrin was able to hang on and claim the second spot. Fischer gave some insight into her and Annie’s mindset, “We truly did not want to celebrate until we saw the final team scores posted to seal Annie’s number two individual spot.” They were able to celebrate as soon as the scores were finally added up. “I am so happy for her,” Fisher said proudly. “The amount of work she puts into the game, the love she has for the game and the fact this is her senior year make this one pretty sweet. It was also special to be able to celebrate the moment with her family, school administrators and personnel, coaches and her friends.”

Southeast claimed the first non-advancing spot, six strokes behind Chagrin Falls, followed by Columbiana and Lake Catholic. Olivia Norris from Lakeview tied Clarico’s 78, one shy of Johnston’s qualifying number. Avery Robinette, a freshman from Champion shot 80, and will likely find her way to the State Tournament in the future.

Congratulations to all our District qualifiers and best of luck in the State Tournament!