Wade, Kingsmen keep their sectional streaks alive at Knollwood East

GRANGER – Delaney Wade and the Penn Lady Kingsmen sure do know their way around Knollwood Country Club’s East Course, their home golf course.

For the fourth straight year, senior Wade won individual medalist honors, this time with a two-under-par 70. The Penn golf program, meanwhile, won its 16^th straight sectional title as coach Katie Bella’s team totaled 314 strokes, 48 better than runner-up South Bend Saint Joseph with South Bend Adams finishing third at 430.

Next up for Penn, Saint Joseph and Adams is next Saturday’s regional hosted by Lake Central High School at Sandy Pines Golf Course in DeMotte, Ind. Also advancing to the regional as individuals were Marian’s Celia Florkowski (98) and Lucie Tinervia (103) and Elkhart’s Evie McCormick (106). Florkowski’s round included her first career hole-in-one which came at the 139-yard 14^th hole with a 9-iron.

For Wade, who is headed to Wofford College in South Carolina in 2024, Friday’s round helps erase the memory of the disappointing 81 she shot in finishing third at the Northern Indiana Conference tournament at Plymouth’s Pretty Lake that the Lady Kingsmen won by 24 strokes over Saint Joseph.

“I’ve been in a funk recently,” said Wade, who hit only five greens at the NIC tourney but hit 16 greens Friday at Knollwood on the way to four birdies. “That definitely helped my game. My putting was decent (she had 33 putts but two three-putts for her only bogeys of the day). I made some good long putts at the end to get back to two-under.”

Bella was happy to see Wade rebound and win medalist honors from her sophomore teammate Scarlett Biever, who shot a four-over 76. Senior Jill Daniels shot 82 and sophomores Clare Tobin (86) and Lilly Norris (97) followed.

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“That’s one of our best team scores out here at Knollwood,” Bella said. “We had a really strong start (Wade birdied her first two holes) and had a tough middle part. But we always say we are a back-nine team, so we finished strong. I’m proud of them today.”

Penn will try to repeat as regional champion next Saturday at Sandy Pines (the Lady Kingsmen have won 15 regional titles).

“I think we have a lot of potential — our goal is to break into the Top 10 at state,” said Bella of the state tournament at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel Sept. 29-30. The Lady Kingsmen have won four state titles under coaches Terry Tulchinsky (1994) and Jim Garrett (2002, 2004, 2005).

“The NIC wasn’t one of our best tournaments this year,” Bella said. “So we’ve worked a lot on our short games and course management. Delaney’s mental game has grown tremendously the last four years. She’s able to kick it into gear when she needs to, and she pushes the others to want to be better.”

Wade also pushes her competition. Sophomore Marley Dunham, the NIC tournament medalist for Saint Joseph, couldn’t keep up Friday, going out in three-over 38 and finishing with a six-over 78 and a pair of birdies.

“I really like playing with Delaney because she is such a good player,” Dunham said. “It’s nice to see an inspiration — that’s how I want to be when I get older.”

Saint Joseph assistant coach Shelley Schmeltz, subbing for head coach Theresa Fry who was absent because of a family wedding, was proud of Dunham and the rest of her team.

“We have a young team — one senior, three sophomores and a freshman (Reese Hull, who shot 91),” Schmeltz said. “We’re improving every week.”

Veteran coach Andy Kern’s Eagles got a team-best 90 from No. 1 Katherine Swain to qualify as a team. Adams’ 430 total was seven strokes better than coach Dan Fleming’s Knights.

“We’ve worked on our chipping and putting for two weeks,” Kern said. “They’ve gotten noticeably better. I’m happy for the girls because they’ve worked hard. I told them at the beginning of the year that I felt they could make it (out of the sectional). I’ve told them the most important shot is the next one.”

Those next shots for the Eagles will come next Saturday at Sandy Pines along with Penn and Saint Joseph.

IHSAA SECTIONAL 4 GIRLS GOLF TOURNAMENT

GRANGER – Results from Friday’s round at the par-72, 5,314-yard Knollwood Country Club East Course:

Teams qualifying

PENN (314): Delaney Wade 70, Scarlett Biever 76, Clare Tobin 86, Jill Daniels 82, Lilly Norris 97

SAINT JOSEPH (362): Marley Dunham 78, Margaux Hannewyk 99, Sydney Schmeltz 94, Reese Hull 91, Isabella Jeffrey 100

SOUTH BEND ADAMS (430): Katherine Swain 90, Deborah Warnke 106, Kamryn Dubie 113, Audrey Fremeau 121, Sophia Yoder 132

Individuals qualifying

Celia Florkowski (Mishawaka Marian) 98

Lucie Tinervia (Mishawaka Marian) 103

Evie McCormick (Elkhart) 106.

Teams which did not qualify

MISHAWAKA MARIAN (437): Celia Florkowski 98, Lucie Tinervia 103, Lilli Fleming 114, Madilyn Brough 122, Maggie Jacobs 140

ELKHART (446): Laci Stimac 117, Natalie Smith 112, Mardi Waits 112, Evie McCormick 106, Rhianna Whitaker 116

MISHAWAKA (490): Grace Overmyer 116, Ava Stopczynski 125, Leah Gradeless 118, Lilly Wittner 131, Payton Lorman 131

TRINITY SCHOOL AT GREENLAWN (513): Leorah Roeber 127, Isabelle Wojtkowski 134, Annie Palmer 127, Morgan Scroope 126, Jada Bush 133

SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON (no team score): LeeAna Hudson 111, Kayla Sawdon 107

SOUTH BEND RILEY (no team score): Lexington Jenkins 107, Elliana Gonzales 121

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Penn, Delaney Wade win girls golf sectional titles Friday at Knollwood