ARLINGTON – Mansfield St. Peter’s freshman Chae Yeon Kim was disappointed after her 82 at sectionals despite earning medalist honors.
“Last week at sectionals she kind of had a rough round and she shot in the 80s: She normally shoots under that,” St. Peter’s coach Nathan Sims said. “But today she showed up — she just played textbook golf.”
Armed with arguably the purest swing at Sycamore Springs, Kim shot a 4-over 76 for medalist runner-up honors — bested by Tiffin Calvert’s Alyssa Rishty (73) — and made history in the process, becoming the first state golf qualifier from St. Peter’s.
“The last nine, she had a couple bogeys, which sent her over for the 4-over,” Sims said. “But I think she’s gonna have a great run at state.”
What makes her 76 even more impressive is the fact Kim had never seen Sycamore Springs, a very unforgiving course. She went out with an even-par 36 on the front before a double bogey on 17 led to a 40 on the back.
“We weren’t able to get out for a practice round or anything, so she was playing the course blind,” Sims said. “She just knows what to do … as we went through it, consistency is key — just get it done.
“She’s got a textbook swing, so as long as she stays calm, she’ll just keep going and play well.”
Wynford’s Caroline Sheldon misses state by a stroke
Disappointed might be an understatement to describe how sophomore Caroline Sheldon felt after watching Otsego’s Elizabeth Budge par the 18th hole to finish with an 84 securing the fourth, and final, individual qualifying spot for state.
“I started off rough, but came back and shot my best round of nine this year,” Sheldon said. “One stroke was the deciding factor, which is disappointing, but I’m only a sophomore and I still have two more years left.
“And we have a good team. We’re all young … so next year we’ll be back and ready for it even better.”
Sheldon bounced back from a 47 on the back — her first nine — with a 38 on the front featuring back-to-back birdies on No. 4 and 5 for a new career-low nine-hole score.
“My mindset was to shoot better than what I did earlier this year (88) because I don’t know the course very well, I only played here twice,” she said. “This weekend we went out and practiced, which was good to see the course. It’s a long course, a lot of trees, not very hilly, we just gotta hit straight.
“So that’s was my goal, hit it straight.”
Her score also helped the Royals to their best finish as a team at districts placing seventh with a 402. In two previous appearances they finished 15th with a 449 (2021) and 10th with a 418 (2022), and only one golfer on Tuesday was part of that 2022 squad.
“Seventh is definitely a big improvement,” Wynford coach Sean Weisenauer said. “We just stressed after the turn to just improve on your first nine. It was a rough nine for a lot of them, nerves got to them. But the second nine they all responded and they all shot lower than what they did on the first, I felt like they finished really well.”
Sophomore Willa Johnson and junior Rylee Robinson each carded 103s, freshman Megan Young a 111, and sophomore Maggie Ridge’s 116 was the drop.
“We did play here earlier in the year (Findlay Invite), but compare that to the the district tournament — it’s just a different environment,” Weisenauer said. “So it was good experience for them to see that this is what we have to do, and we got that much better than where we were at the beginning of the year.
“This is something they’ll grow from and hopefully next year we’re right back here.”
Rival, and sectional champion, Colonel Crawford finished in a tie for eighth with Margaretta each with a 407. Senior Madison Gray led the way with a 91 and saw her high school golf career come to an end. She was Northern 10 Player of the Year, set the N10 tournament record with a 78, and broke the school record 18-hole score with a 76.
A trio of juniors in Rylie Hoepf (105), Sydney Furr (110), and Kaity Taylor (121) will be back along with freshman Norrie Plank (101).
zholden@gannett.com | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Mansfield St. Pete’s freshman Chae Yeon Kim qualifies for state golf
