Oct. 2—The Madison Central golf programs put together dominant performances in the first round of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s state tournament in Somerset.
The events were held at Eagle’s Nest Country Club.
The Indians posted an even-par score of 284 on Wednesday and beat out Frederick Douglass by 23 strokes for the title.
Central’s Seth Barker also won the individual championship, shooting a -2, 69.
The Lady Indians shot a 307 on Tuesday and out-distanced Lexington Christian Academy (318) for the team title. Mollie Neeley finished at +2, 73, and tied for third place, individually.
Central’s squads both advance to the final round of the KHSAA Tournament next week at the Bowling Green Country Club.
The Indians will look to claim a third-straight state tournament title on Oct. 8 and 9.
The Lady Indians are set to take the course on Oct. 11 and 12.
GIRLS
Madison Central surged ahead of Lexington Christian Academy on the back nine Tuesday in Somerset to claim the team title.
Montgomery County (351) finished third.
All three teams move onto the state.
Central’s Federspiel twins — Haley and Mackenize — tied for 11th with scores of +6, 77. Aubrey Barrow (+9, 80) was 15th and Amelia Harrel (+11, 82) tied for 19th.
“It was a great victory for the team,” Madison Central coach Tennye Ohr said. “I was surprised by how big of a victory it was because we only beat LCA by one stroke last week (at the region tournament).”
Neeley led the way again for Central. The junior shot a +2, 73, and tied for third. She was +3 at the turn, but had birdies on 10, 11, 12 and 17.
Neeley won the individual title at the region tournament last week, helping the Lady Indians edge out LCA for the team championship.
“For Mollie and a lot of other girls, all the hard work is finally starting to pay off,” Ohr said.
The Lady Indians got off to a slow start on Tuesday.
Neeley, Haley Federspiel and Barrow each had bogeys on No. 1, while Harrel added a double bogey. On the front nine, Central was +12 and trailed LCA by two strokes.
The Lady Indians, though, had eight birdies on the back, including a pair of No. 12 and No. 14.
“Mollie went on a roll,” Ohr said. “Mackenzie had a couple of birdies. When you can do that, good things happen.”
Henry Clay’s Kylah Lunsford took the individual title with an even-par 71. Athena Singh had Rowan County was second at +1, 72. Boyd County’s Morgan Kennedy tied for third with Neeley.
The top 15 individuals not on teams qualifying for the state also move onto the final round of the state tournament.
Other individual qualifiers included Darcy Lawson of Powell County (74), Abigail Caine of Woodford County (74), Claudia Logan (75) of Franklin County, Channing Hagen (75) of Lexington Catholic, Georgia Scott (79) of Lexington Catholic, Malainey Dobbs (81) of Wayne County and Emi Ledford (81) of East Carter.
Central is set to make its first trip back to the final round of the state tournament — as a team — since winning the KHSAA title in 2022.
BOYS
The Indians had three players finish in the Top 10 as they rolled to the team championship on Wednesday in Somerset.
Barker (-2, 69) opened the tournament with birdies on No. 1 and 2 and added three more birdies on the back nine, No. 12, 14 and 16.
Barker finished one shot ahead of three players for the title — including teammate Reece Keeton (-1, 70).
Keeton finished with two birdies (No. 6 and 18), one bogey (No. 6) and 15 pars.
Henry Clay’s Carson Nicholas and North Laurel’s Brady Hensley also shot a -1, 70.
Central’s Jake Feldhaus shot a +1, 72, and tied for fifth. He finished with three birdies, including on No. 1 and 2.
Central’s Radney Bales tied for 11th with a +2, 73, and Tucker Jones finished at +5, 76, and tied for 22nd.
Frederick Douglass shot a +23, 307 to take second place, while Pulaski County finished third at +29, 313.
The top three teams move onto the final round of the state tournament, along with the top 15 individuals from the non-qualifying teams.
