MARION - Alton's Natalie Messinger had a hot hand on Monday in the IHSA Class 2A Sectional Golf Tournament at Marion and the Edwardsville girls golf team had two of its players - Nicole Johnson and Grace Daech - finish in the top ten with an 81 score, and it was enough to help the Tigers advance as a team to Monday's Illinois High School Association's Class 2A sectional tournament.
Edwardsville finished second to O'Fallon in the regional played Wednesday at Kokopelli Golf Club in Marion. Johnson and Daech of the Tigers both shot an 81 to tie for eighth place, and Collinsville's Maya Clark was 10th with an 82.
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The Panthers won the regional with a score of 316. with the Tigers taking the second team spot with a 344. The host Wildcats came in third with a score of 347, with Collinsville coming in fourth with a 353, and Belleville East fifth with a 367. Triad came in sixth with a 373, with Alton and Mascoutah tying for seventh with both shooting a 375, Belleville West was ninth with a 377, Granite City came in 10th with a score of 441, and Mt. Vernon was 11th with a 454.
Marion's Sarah Capel was the individual champion, shooting a three-over-par 74 to win the championship, with Mascoutah's Sophie Florek second with a 75. Three O'Fallon golfers --- Maddie Vanderheyden, Dylan Kirchoff and Reagan Martin --- finished third, fourth and fifth respectively, with scores of 76, 77 and 78, Messinger tied for sixth with the Wildcats' Baylee Kelley, with both shooting an 80 to advance as individuals.
Besides Johnson and Daech's 81s, the Tigers had Caitlyn Dicks with an 87, Sydney Weedman shot a 95, Riley Burns had a 97, and Bailey Vorachek fired a 100. Besides Clark, Ricki Merlak shot an 86 for the Kahoks, while Grace Lanier had a 92, Carstyn Jones shot a 93, Abby Fister had a 94, and Sammi Qualls carded a 105.
For the Knights, Emma Hill led the way with an 84, while Anja Mills shot a 95, Makenna Jensen fired a 96, Ella Moore had a 98, Makenna Keith shot a 100, and Jessica Sager had a 103. Along with Messinger's qualifying score, the Redbirds had Riley Kenney with a 90, Josie Giertz shot a 97, Samantha Eales fired a 108, Olivia Boyd shot an 110, and Lexi Paulin carded an 115.
Lexie Schmidtke led the way for the Warriors with a 102, followed by Illaina Novacich with a 109, Layla Reynolds had an 110, Hailey Ambrose and Lucy Van Buskirk each shot a 120, and Gwyneth Hale carded a 155.
Both the Panthers and Tigers, along with Messinger, move on to the Champaign Centennial sectional, which will be played Monday at the University of Illinois Golf Course.
