By BRAD BAUGHMAN, for The Democrat
The Brown County High School girls golf team returns four of its top seven players from last season, and six other golfers on the roster will be joining them, vying for spots in the lineup.
Lost to graduation were Allison Stogsdill, All-Conference and regional qualifier; Taylor Poling, All-Conference; and Aubrey Hollander. There are no seniors on this year’s roster.
Juniors Ainslie Winton, Annika Evenson and Abby Padgett, along with sophomore Avery Patterson, saw considerable varsity action last year and are back hoping to build on last season’s success. Two other juniors, Christy Sebastian and Mattie Satter, have occupied the fifth and sixth spots in the Eagle order to start the 2020 season.
Sophomores Kaitlyn Doss and Kennedy Root and freshmen Ava Padgett and Savannah Poling complete the roster.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Co-coach Ben VanNess likes the potential he sees in his young squad. “We do have some returning players, but all in all, we have an extremely young team that we believe will do some great things,” he said.
Many players participated in the voluntary practices that began in early July, leading to what VanNess called an “extremely productive summer.”
Brown County opened the season with a victory over Indian Creek at Tameka Woods Golf Course. The Eagles posted a 232, while the Braves came in with a 248.
Medalist honors went to Indian Creek’s Hannah Emenhiser with a 47. Evenson led the Eagles with a 52, and she got scoring help from Winton with a 57, Padgett with a 61, and Patterson with a 62. Sebastian and Satter carded a 65 and 71, respectively, to round out the Eagles’ performance.
The Eagles did not fare as well in their next match, a tri-meet with Brownstown Central and Edgewood, played at Salt Creek Golf Retreat. Brown County picked up a win against Edgewood, which was unable to field a complete team, but fell to the Braves. Winton’s 53 and Sebastian’s 58 paced the Eagles.
Jennings County was added to the schedule this season, and the Eagles will make the two-hour trip south to Buffalo Trace Golf Course in Jasper to compete in the eight-team Wildcat Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 22. The Eagles were runners-up last year in the field, losing only to the host Jasper Wildcats.
On Aug. 29, the team will travel to Forest Park Golf Course in Brazil to compete in the WIC championships, intending to improve upon their 2019 third-place finish.
VanNess, pleased with the team’s progress so far, will be looking for more than continued skill development out of his squad in the coming weeks.
“We are waiting anxiously to see which one or how many of these young ladies will reach up and grab the reins and lead this team that is so full of promise,” he said.
Brad Baughman is a co-coach of the BCHS girls golf team.
