Spend a few minutes with Independence girls’ golf coach Karl Schuld and he’s bound to tell you how good the Blue Devils can be in the future.
The current version isn’t so bad considering the Blue Devils, defending Division II state runners-up, have won four out of the five tournaments in which they have competed including Monday’s Mentor Invitational at St. Denis Golf Course.
Independence finished with 343 strokes, 21 fewer than second-place Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin and 32 better than third place Cloverleaf, who was fifth in the state last season.
“We hit about the same score as we usually do but we went about it a little differently this time,” Schuld said. “We try to stay right around that 340 mark. It’s a good place to be but we know we can do better than that. We’re just trying to get everybody to play well on the same day.”
Schuld’s confidence was tested early in the round when his golfers were posting some abnormally high numbers.
His fears subsided when the tallying of the scorecards took place after the tournament.
“When I saw the other scores come in I didn’t feel so bad,” Schuld said. “Cloverleaf shot a low score the other day and they were at 375 today. A couple other schools said their kids played better recently. There just wasn’t a lot of energy out there but somehow we golfed well enough to get it done.”
Last week, Independence senior Sophia Trombetta set a new Chagrin Valley Conference record with a 64. She won the Mentor Invitational with a 77.
“Sophia was all down on herself today and still won the tournament,” Schuld said. “That just shows you how good she really is. We had girls there from Cloverleaf that are really good and a couple good girls from Chardon and NDCL but in her mind she was not golfing as well as she thinks she can. For her to hold it together and win the tournament is amazing.”
Lyndsay Blum finished in fourth place with a 79.
“She’s just been phenomenal for us,” Schuld said. “Sometimes I feel bad for her because she’s on the same team with a lot of other good golfers and sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, but she’s been phenomenal. She’s right in there every time and once the birdies start falling for her, when they do she’ll be down there in the low 70s.”
Maddie Harper turned in another strong round with an 89 and Madeline Mindzora finished with a 98. Allie Ksiazka carded a 110 and Kara Krsak posted her high school low score with a 114.
“That’s two rounds together in a row for Maddie Harper and we feel she’s going to be a lot better. She had an Eagle today from about 60 yards out and she’s improving every day,” Schuld said. “Madeline Mindzora didn’t have good front nine but she came around and held it together and shot 46 on the back. That’s what got it done for us last year, we started fighting for every stroke and I saw that out of Madeline today.”
Independence travels to Solon on Tuesday. The Comets finished 10th in the Division I state tournament last fall.
Mentor Varsity Girls Invitational at St. Denis, Par 72
1. Independence 343
2. NDCL 366
3. Cloverleaf 375
4. Lake Catholic 390
5. Aurora 397
6. Kenston 410
7. Chardon 411
8. Mentor 427
9. Hawken 434
1st Medalist: Sophia Trombetta 77
2nd Medalist: McKenna Jordan 78
3rd Medalist: Avery Ovens 78
- Independence: Sophia Trombetta 77, Lyndsay Blum 79, Maddie Harper 89, Madelyn Mindzora 98, Allie Ksiazka 111, Kara Krsak 114
- NDCL: Avery Ovens 78, Nora Nelson 81, Casey King 90, Lauren Frank 117, Bella Riunno 135, Taylor Slish 134
- Cloverleaf: McKenna Jordan 78, Averi Hanna 84, Nina Buchan 108, Brynn Shetterly 113, Emma Harrell 105
- Lake Catholic: Marina Marusic 86, Olivia Zampedro 91, Gabrielle Grandini 98, Julia Schoen 115, Jordan Kern
- Aurora: Olivia Traci 102, Kenzie Myers 94, Skyler Banbury 101, Julia McGarry 100, Grace Caffoe 113, Devon Banbury 109
- Kenston: Aya Henry 98, Izzy Kryys 102, Abi Vossler 105, Samantha Hoffman 105, Lexi Journey 113, Grace Cannon 105
- Chardon: Laine Hursh 86, Clara Lundblad 84, Chelsea Martin 133, Lauren Phillips 129, Cate Condon 112, Sarah Eisenhart 132
- Mentor: Nicole Betz 101, Sam Bostleman 110, Hailey Bryan 106, Gabi Iannetta 110, Kerri Donaldson 113
- Hawken: Ryan Covitt 89, Jane Wiertel 105, Erinn Slotta 112, Emily Brenner 128, Kati Vomberger 144, Rachel Slotta 141
