PEKIN – It was once again Rachel Johnson’s day as she earned her spot in the IHSA girls' golf state finals. She did so by winning the IHSA Class 2A Pekin Sectional on Monday afternoon at Pekin Country Club.
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She was the only golfer under par at 1-under par 71. She won the event by one stroke over Lincoln-Way East’s Bella Versetto, who shot even-par 72.
Johnson started her round on hole one with a bogey, but followed that up with birdies on two, four, and six, before bogeying eight, finishing the front nine at one under.
She then played an even back nine with a birdie on 11 and a bogey on 15. Only Versetto got more birdies (5) than Johnson did on the day.
Despite her best efforts, the Tigers, as a team, came up short of qualifying for the state finals. They finished with a combined team score of 351, which put them in fifth place. Only the top three teams qualify for state.
Versetto and Lincoln-Way East won the sectional at 315, well ahead of second-place O’Fallon (333). Normal University finished third at 335, and Lincoln-Way Central was fourth at 337.
Other counted scores from Edwardsville included matching 91s from Emerson Gusewelle and Kylie Linktker, and a 98 from Parker Burns. Betsy Gates shot 104, and Sunee Delkus shot 115.
Johnson will head to Decatur this weekend for two rounds at Hickory Point Golf Course beginning on Friday, October 10.
