Highland girls golfers finish busy week against Collinsville, Belleville East
After slogging through two grinding tournaments in the past five days, the Highland girls golf team got a much-needed switch in the schedule Thursday.
The Lady Bulldogs traveled to the Arlington Greens Golf Course in Granite City and faced Collinsville and Belleville East in a tri-match.
The young Lady Bulldogs held their own but when the day was finished, Highland placed third in the match, shooting a 208. Collinsville took first place with a 168 and Belleville East placed second, shooting a 170.
Claire Korte led Highland with another solid day, shooting a 46. Lilly Barker fired a 56, while Raeghan Henrichs, Kalie Gould, and Maci MIles also turned in respectable efforts, each shooting a 54. Brooke Hunsch, meanwhile, shot a 55 on the day.
“They were all right there together (with the scores),” Highland coach Ashley DeSelm said.
Going against bigger schools, the Lady Bulldogs knew the match would be challenging, but DeSelm was pretty satisfied with the team’s performance.
“They are sticking to the 50’s right now, but it’s still very early in the season and all of them have great potential to get lower (scores) and hopefully the more we play this year they will meet their goals,” DeSelm said.
On Tuesday, the Lady Bulldogs competed in the Metro East Shootout at Far Oaks Country Club in Caseyville and finished 10th in the 12-team event with a score of 410.
The course, one of the longest courses in the area, tested the Lady Bulldogs’ mental and physical will.
“It was a pretty long day and that course is a very long course to walk with all the girls. And with the IHSA (COVID-19) rules of no (golf) carting, it’s a long day of walking,” DeSelm said. “It was quite a few miles and some of the holes are like straight uphill and a good distance (to walk to).”
Korte had a very respectable round in the tournament, shooting a team-leading 89.
“That was a wonderful score for her,” DeSelm said. “I’m pretty proud of her for that. That was a great score for her.”
Barker shot a 105 to finish 45th and Henrichs shot a 106, placing 47th overall.
“Lilly is really hard on herself as she’s trying to break 100 for this year, but for how much walking they did in the heat, those two scores are solid scores,” DeSelm said.
On Aug. 21, Highland finished 10th with a score of 421 in the Belleville West Invitational at The Orchards Golf Course in Belleville. Korte led the Lady Bulldogs with a 99, placing 30th in the tournament.
Lady Bulldogs look forward to schedule shift
DeSelm said the shift from tournaments to tri and quad matches is a welcome break after the past weeks to start the season.
“It is and I’m sure they appreciate (the break) especially in this heat and (wearing) those masks,” DeSelm said.
The Lady Bulldogs will get back to the course Monday, playing host to Breese Central, Civic Memorial, and Father McGivney in a 3:30 p.m. quad match at Highland Country Club.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 12:00 AM.