C-J file photo/Junior Ryan Bender will lead the Sacred Heart golf team into this week’s state championships in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
After four straight state championships from 2011-14, a sixth-place finish in the state tournament wasn’t exactly what the Sacred Heart Academy golf team had in mind last year.
“We were all a little disappointed after last year,” Valkyries coach Leslie Bender said. “They felt like they had let down the girls before them and didn’t quite live up to the expectations they wanted for themselves. But they were still young and figuring out how to be their own leaders.”
Sacred Heart has figured out things in a big way in 2016 and looks to return to the top of the state during this week’s Leachman Buick-GMC-Cadillac/KHSAA State Championships at Bowling Green Country Club. The two-day event will tee off at 8 a.m. EDT Tuesday, with the final round set for 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The Valkyries are undefeated in 10 tournaments this year and produced three of the top five individual finishers in last week’s Region Five Tournament with champion Ryan Bender (a junior), fourth-place Taylor Edlin (sophomore) and fifth-place Morgan Tinsley (senior).
Bender, Edlin and Tinsley joined junior Erin Rowland as returnees from last year’s squad, with freshman Jacqueline Steier the lone newcomer.
“We’ve had different girls step up at different times,” Leslie Bender said. “Having so much depth has really helped us. … If we all play the way we should play, we should have a really good week.”
While it’s imprecise to compare regional scores from around the state because of different courses, Sacred Heart’s 305 was 21 shots better than any other team (Ryle at 326). Bender said Region Five runner-up Shelby County – led by senior Lilly Young (Northern Kentucky University commit) – and defending state champion Madison Central are other top contenders for the team title.
Along with Sacred Heart’s top players, top individuals include Clay County junior Bailey Hubbard, Murray senior Sarah McDowell (Murray State commit), Madison Central sophomore Mackenzie Neal, Mason County senior Sarah Fite (University of Kentucky commit), Owensboro senior Ke’Asha Phillips and Henderson County junior Payton Carter.
Individual qualifiers from the Louisville area were South Oldham sophomore Molly Jo Bebelaar, Manual junior Lucy Suo, Kentucky Country Day sophomore Alexis Hardin and Bullitt East senior Margherita Battislotti.
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.