Independence’s girls’ golf team shot a 344 to win the Division II Good Park District title on Monday.
With their win, the Blue Devils advanced to next weekend’s state golf championships at Ohio State University’s Gray Course.
“It is so exciting,” said Independence senior Molly McGreal, who will make her fourth straight trip to the state tournament. “We all played confident as a team, and we all pulled our weight and pulled through when it counted. We shot a season-low of 344 and I am so excited to see what we can do next week.”
McGreal led the Blue Devils with a 79, good for fifth place as an individual.
“I had some tough short putts that I missed on the back, and it just reminded me how every shot counts and is worth the same amount,” McGreal said. “Playing with so much pressure can help if you let it. For me, when I use it to my advantage, I see great quality shots, and every shot is thought very thoroughly.”
As a freshman, McGreal placed 48th at the state tournament. She finished tied for 28th as a sophomore and tied for 18th as a junior.
She’s hoping to continue to climb the leaderboard at the state tournament this season.
“I have such great memories from the state tournament the past three years,” she said. “I want to go out with a bang and keep up the positive thoughts. State the years prior has been such a great experience and I am excited to get back to OSU because we always play well because of the fun we are having there. I am also excited to see to play seeing that this will be my fourth year going. The fact that we as a team made it as far as we could is such a great accomplishment.”
Macey McGhee carded an 82, good for sixth place.
“It’s very exciting for us to win the district title for the second year in a row and qualify for the state tournament,” McGhee said. “We all collectively were a little nervous because it was all or nothing, and once we all finished, we knew we placed well.”
McGhee’s low score was the result of her familiarity with the Good Park course and her confidence in her swing.
“For me, I was just playing my game,” she said. “I have played this course many times before and I knew where to shoot to have a good score. I knew that if I had a bad shot it would be okay and that if I had a good shot, I would be okay. I was just having fun with my group of girls and played confident.”
Last fall, McGhee played in her third state tournament, finishing in 36th place.
She’s eager to see what she can accomplish in her second straight trip to the big dance.
“Since we have qualified, it takes lots of pressure off of each of us,” she said. “We know that we accomplished this big task, and the state tournament is just a really big reward. We are all so excited to go down there together and have fun. I am also excited that this group of girls get to play at that level. I’m not super worried about the mental side of my play as I have been there before and have prepared myself well in the past.”
Adriann Buyansky shot an 87 to place 11th as an individual.
“I’m beyond excited to continue our season at states,” Buyansky said. “I had a good feeling that we would qualify but was shocked to see that we took first place. I knew we had it all in us individually, but we all came out and put out our best scores today showing how resilient we are.”
Buyansky was a bit more nervous than usual when she teed off to start the tournament, but she settled into her rhythm and finished with a solid score.
“Today, I kept my game in control by focusing on each shot one at a time,” she said. “On the first tee box, I was a little tense but I kept in mind that this is my game and by staying calm I’ll put out my best score.”
Buyansky will make her first appearance at the state tournament but she’s very familiar with the Gray Course thanks to supporting her Blue Devil teammates over the past two seasons.
“Having been at states the past two years will be quite helpful in keeping myself calm and determined,” she said. “I’ve walked the course the past two years, which has made me familiar. I believe with the same energy and determination we showed today we can again prove ourselves next week at states.”
Callia Shumay closed out the Independence scoring with a season-low 96 and Maria DeCapua shot a 99 for the Blue Devils.
Perry’s Emily Capitosti shot an 88, good for a tie for 13th place and Adyson Trefzger tied for 17th with an 89. The Pirates finished in sixth place as a team.
Lakeside’s Zach Palmer shot a 79 at the Division I Quail Hollow Sectional tournament on Monday and will compete at the district tournament next week.
FULL RESULTS-GIRLS DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
1. Independence* 344 (Molly McGreal 79, Macey McGhee 82, Adriann Buyansky 87, Maria DeCapua 99, Callia Shumay 96); 2. Akron SVSM* 348 (Raygan Hoover 82, Caitrin Coyle 89, Reese Latta 89, Mia Ross 90, Rylee Hoover 88); 3. Laurel* 359 (Siena Maschke 76, Jade Gladue 94, Liliana Embrescia 96, Elizabeth Weingart 93, Stella Kronstain 107); 4. Southeast 361; 5. Canton South 374; 6. Perry 380; 7. Champion 381; 8. Columbiana 392; 9. Ursuline 395; 10. West Branch 399; 11. East Canton 403; 12. Keystone 456; 13. United 0; 14. Mooney 0; 15. Southern Local 0; 16. LaBrae 0; 17. Gilmour Academy 0; 18. Orange 0; 19. Ash. Edgewood 0; 20. Chagrin Falls 0; 21. Orrville 0; 22. Dalton 0; 23. Hillsdale 0; 24. Columbia 0;
Individual Scores: * Indicates qualifying individual.
1. Mati Zines*(United) 73, Abby Ankenman*(Orrville) 73; 3. Siena Maschke(Laurel) 76; 4. Taylor Blazek*(Southeast) 78; 5. Molly McGreal(Independence) 79; 6. Macey McGhee(Independence) 82, Raygan Hoover(Akron SVSM) 82, Taylor Kuhrt (Columbia) 82; 9. Shaylee Muckleroy(West Branch) 84; 10. Delaney Kruger(Canton South) 85; 11. Adriann Buyansky(Independence) 87, Anuja Patel (Orange) 87; 13. Kennady Grace(Champion) 88, Emily Capitosti(Perry) 88, Rylee Hoover(Akron SVSM) 88, Hailey Franks(Canton South) 88; 17. Katie Pregibon (Mooney) 89, Gracie Westover(Southeast) 89, Adyson Trefzger(Perry) 89, Lauren Riccobelli (Gilmour Academy) 89, Caitrin Coyle(Akron SVSM) 89, Reese Latta(Akron SVSM) 89, Mia Steigerwald(East Canton) 89; 24. Ellie Jackson(Columbiana) 90, Mia Ross(Akron SVSM) 90; 26. Kayla Haynie(Champion) 91, Josie Bishara(Ursuline) 91, Jillian Peters(Perry) 91, Madison Wade (Dalton) 91; 30. Annie Johnston (Ash. Edgewood) 92; 31. Elizabeth Weingart(Laurel) 93; 32. Aubree Varga(Southeast) 94, Jade Gladue(Laurel) 94; 34. Dally Meek (Hillsdale) 95; 35. Callia Shumay(Independence) 96, Liliana Embrescia(Laurel) 96, Erin Foster(Canton South) 96; 38. Skylar Scarnecchia(Champion) 97, Maddie Jackson(Columbiana) 97, Elyse Mallette(East Canton) 97; 41. Giovanna Schiavone(Ursuline) 99, Hailey Muntean(Columbiana) 99, Maria DeCapua(Independence) 99; 44. Hayden Mesler(West Branch) 100, Madison Touart (LaBrae) 100, jessica mix(Southeast) 100; 47. Lilly Ditz(Ursuline) 102, meghan steigerwald(East Canton) 102; 49. Isabella Linger(West Branch) 103, Abby Evans(Ursuline) 103; 51. Brilea Woods(Champion) 105, Paige Riggs (Southern Local) 105, Matilda Fischer (Chagrin Falls) 105, leah Cramer(Canton South) 105; 55. Sophia Perry(Columbiana) 106; 56. Claire Banner(Columbiana) 107, Stella Kronstain(Laurel) 107; 58. Layna Tittel(Southeast) 108, Alexis Askew(Keystone) 108; 60. Gabriella Gasior(Ursuline) 110, Mia Zellers(Canton South) 110; 62. Jade Howell(West Branch) 112, Lilah Yeager(Perry) 112, Brenna Taylor(Keystone) 112; 65. Carissa Hanson(Perry) 113; 66. Lillian Smith(West Branch) 114; 67. charlie robinson(East Canton) 115, Kennedy Accavallo(Keystone) 115; 69. Lucy Cook(Keystone) 121; 70. Ella Carter(East Canton) 130; 71. Emma Feakins(Keystone) 135; 72. Channing Fox(Champion) 138;
