Oct. 18--FORSYTH, Ill. -- Only three of the top 12 individual finishers Saturday at the Class AA girls golf state tournament were seniors, meaning there should be plenty of firepower at the top of the leaderboard in the near future.
Rockford Guilford sophomore Madasyn Pettersen followed up her fourth-place finish as a freshman to knock off two-time defending champion Jessica Yuen of Neuqua Valley at Hickory Point Golf Club., Three freshman finished in the top eight, including Benet's Lauren Beaudreau, who played in the day's final quartet and finished fourth with a 2-over-par 146.
"I was coming into today hoping to win and I gave it a good run," said Beaudreau, who was two strokes back after a 73 on Friday. "I'm looking forward to coming back with another chance at winning next year."
Players of Beaudreau's caliber often have played with elite players in club events by the time they arrive in high school, so unsteady nerves are unlikely to stand in their way.
Still, going through the pressure of a state meet for the first time is still beneficial.
"I know now what I have to improve on to get to the top," Beaudreau said. "I got to see other girls play in this environment and compare them to me, which was really valuable in how I can analyze my game."
St. Charles North freshman Megan Furtney finished fifth at 3-over 147, with New Trier freshman Penelope Tir tied with two others in sixth at 9-over 153.
"This felt new, but it wasn't new at the same time," Tir said. "I'm not used to playing team golf, so that was an exciting new component to playing in this kind of tournament. I've played with a lot of these girls for years but playing for New Trier was really fun."
Always the bridesmaid: Mixed feelings abounded in the Loyola camp, as the Ramblers finished second for the third straight year. The Ramblers were proud of another strong showing, but veterans of all three runner-up squads, like junior Margaret Hickey, couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"The conditions were really tough and we knew coming into today that we would all need to play really well to win," Hickey said. "I feel like we all left some shots out there, but it was the best we could do."
In the end, the Ramblers simply weren't as top-heavy as Hinsdale Central. Their top finisher, sophomore Nina Rutkowski, tied for 13th. Hickey tied for 16th and senior Blake Yaccino, who tied for eighth last year, came in 25th.
"Hinsdale Central is a really great team, so coming in second to them is nothing to be ashamed of," Hickey said. "We felt like we had a chance to make that next step up this year but we didn't quite get there. We know what it's like to finish second and we're proud to take home another trophy."
IC Catholic's Hurt takes Class A crown: Thirty-six holes were not enough to decide the Class A individual title, as IC Catholic junior Maddie Hurt and Rochester senior Morgan Savage finished tied at 8-over 152 at Red Tail Run in Decatur.
Hurt ended up on top after a two-hole playoff to win the state championship. She moved up from fourth place after Friday's first round, when she shot 5-over 79, with a 1-over 73 on Saturday.
Hurt's win completed a postseason sweep after she won the Queen of Peace Regional and the Nazareth Sectional. She finished 16th at state last year and 38th as a freshman in 2013.
Savage led Rochester to the team title with a total of 675 (+99), 16 strokes ahead of Massac County. Two-time defending individual champion Lauren Chappell, a Charleston junior, tied for fourth with an 11-over 155 that included a 9-over 81 on Saturday.
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
