Willis, Jones advance to districts

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VERSAILLES — On Wednesday, Sept. 28, Eaton’s Sarah Willis took first place, while National Trail’s Makenna Jones took third, at the girls Division II sectional golf tournament.

The event was held at Stillwater Valley Golf Club in Versailles. The weather was far from perfect, as it was cold and rained almost the entire tournament. Fifteen teams participated in the event, with individuals such as Willis playing, along with Autumn Newdigate and Noelle Bright of Twin Valley South, and the National Trail girls golf team.

“Sarah didn’t have her ‘A’ game today, but she had some phenomenal up and downs which helped her win the tournament,” said assistant coach Tim Appledorn who coached her while head coach Randy Titkemeyer coached the boys team in the Dayton sectionals.

“Playing in less-than-ideal conditions isn’t a big a deal when you have the right gear and the right attitude, and Sarah had both on this day. The golf course did a great job of keeping the course playable. The pro course and superintendent kept some maintenance staff on hand to squeegee a few greens to keep the standing water to a minimum,” Appledorn said.

Willis won the tournament with a low score of 72, while Jones finished with an 81. Only National Trail brought in a full-team roster, finishing in a respectable sixth with a team score of 432.

Eaton and TVS did not have enough players to register a team score.

“The conditions on Wednesday were not ideal as it rained almost all day,” said NT coach Jordan Schlamb. “This caused the day to seem colder than it was. Makenna only shot an 81, but it was good enough for her to advance to districts.”

For the Lady Blazers, Savanna Abner came in tied at 21st with a 104. Makena Laird of National Trail carded a 107, good for 26th. Next were the two girls from South, with Autumn Newdigate in 38th (115) and Noelle Bright in 40th (116). Trail’s Allison Brubaker finished in 65th with a 140, while Michelle Massa closed out in 69th with a 146.

South coach Darcy Robinson was proud of how Newdigate and Bright performed during the tournament.

“They were both anxious to see how they would stack up against other girls, as opposed to having to compete against boys, as they did all season,” Robinsond said. “I thought they did extremely well, given the torrential downpours we experienced at times today. I don’t think the weather conditions could have been much worse than they were today, but the girls really hung in there, staying positively focused throughout the grueling six hours that it took to finish the 18 holes.”

Willis and Jones now advance to the Division II district tournament to be held Wednesday, Oct. 5, at PipeStone in Miamisburg.

By Oliver Sanders

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Reach Oliver Sanders at 937-683-4062 or on Twitter @osanders_RH

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