Sep. 10—ANDERSON — With a pair of regional qualifiers at the top of its lineup, the Lapel girls golf team is rightfully optimistic about this year’s postseason.
A mere 13 days away from the Bulldogs’ trip to the always tough Noblesville sectional, the rapid improvement of a freshman from the third spot is ramping up that excitement.
On a day when scoring was difficult, Claire Humerickhouse carded a 40 at the Edge on Tuesday to earn medalist honors and lead Lapel to a team score of 170, bettering Heritage Christian’s 174 and the 189 posted by Pendleton Heights.
“The girls fought. I saw a couple good shots out there,” Lapel coach Dylan Crosley said. “I’m proud of Claire for keeping her composure out there after a seven on three. The girls battled the right way.”
Madison County champion Jane Armington finished one shot back with a 41, followed by Annabelle Marshall at 43 and Jordi Pilkington at 46 for the Bulldogs. Both Armington — with Wes-Del — and Marshall advanced to regional last year.
Morgan Bricker led the Arabians with a 43, followed by Bella Shetterley’s 45, a 46 from Zoe Lawrence and Kiersten Dujmovich’s 55.
Three players — Bevin Turner, Olivia Cook and Abby Dixon — shot 43 for Heritage Christian while Isabella Rutherford added a 45.
Starting on the first hole, Humerickhouse hit her one speedbump Tuesday on the par-four third hole when her second shot sailed out of bounds and she finished with a triple-bogey. But she settled in and made a 4 on each of the final six holes — including four pars — to finish at 6-over par.
“I just kind of knew what I did wrong and what I needed to do to fix it,” she said. “I just kept my mind there, and I knew I’d play better.”
Crosley pointed out the growth Humerickhouse has shown is exceptional for a player of her age and experience.
“Her mental toughness is there,” he said. “We just have to get her to not have that big score out there, but it is what it is. She’s a freshman, and I like what I’m seeing from her right now.”
While length and accuracy off the tee, and while her irons are always important, Humerickhouse credited her putter for helping with Tuesday’s solid round.
“My putting was really good. I think I had 16 putts,” she said. “I really had to work on my speed, and I did. It’s a lot better now.”
The success up and down the roster is reminding Lapel fans of the 2019 season when the Bulldogs advanced to the state finals as a team. This Saturday, Lapel will get a good look at what its up against in order to repeat that feat this fall when it takes part in the Noblesville Invitational against an elite field of competition that includes a number of top-10 teams.
But Crosley will not be watching how his team compares against the entire field. Rather he’ll be eyeing just one foe as they take the Harbour Trees course that will host that sectional.
“I want to tell the girls before the meet Saturday that it’s us against Fishers,” he said. “I expect that come sectional time, it will be us against Fishers and Pendleton. I just want them to go in there and have fun.”
Playing alongside regional qualifiers like Armington and Marshall has helped the budding freshman star for his Bulldogs.
“(My confidence) has grown a lot. In the spring I didn’t play nearly this good,” Humerickhouse said. “I think playing with the people I play with now, they’ve made me better.”
Pendleton Heights travels to Greenfield-Central for a Hoosier Heritage Conference match Wednesday while the Bulldogs will face Mount Vernon and Yorktown on Thursday in a three-team meet at Arrowhead Golf Course.
Contact Rob Hunt at
rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.
