Lexington Catholic stuns girls’ region golf field; Madison Central has top individual

Playing its best golf at the most critical time, Lexington Catholic stunned the Region 9 Girls’ Golf Championship field Tuesday to win the program’s first region title by 10 strokes over defending region champ Madison Central at The Woodford Club.

Both Lexington Catholic and Madison Central advance to next week’s KHSAA State First Round Tournament at the Winchester Country Club along with 10 individual qualifiers from the other competing teams.

“We were definitely the underdogs,” said LexCath junior Macy Cecil, who finished runner-up after a two-hole playoff for the individual title. “No one really expected us to win. But my team pulled through. We’re very competitive people. We worked really hard for this.”

Cecil carded a 2-over 73 on the 5,404-yard Woodford Club layout. Teammates Bella Brooks (74), Kariann Campbell (77) and Georgia Scott (80) made up the 304-stroke total with Mary Claire’s respectable 89 not counting for the Knights.

Individual title for Madison Central’s Eberle

Madison Central senior Elizabeth Eberle tapped in a par on the second playoff hole for the individual region title. Eberle rallied from what could have been a crippling double bogey on the 16th hole in which she relinquished a share of the lead and dropped two strokes back. She parred every remaining hole from there, including the two playoff holes to win it.

“I just tried to keep it together, make some pars and that worked,” Eberle said. “And then in the playoff, I just tried to stay calm and make some pars and it worked. So, I guess, just keep it steady is what wins.”

The left-hander had a downhill lie on the left edge of the fairway on 16 and shanked her second shot up against a horse farm fence. An official helped locate the ball, but it was unplayable. She had to drop for an added stroke and two-putted for a six on the par 4.

“When I hit that shot, I was like, ‘OK. I’m out of it.’ I really thought that was it,” Eberle said. “But I just tried to be like ‘Anything can happen.’”

Henry Clay’s Kylah Lunsford played alongside Eberle all day, and the two knew they were around the lead, but each said they didn’t think about where they were as they took turns on top of the leaderboard.

“I had no idea, because it normally stresses me out,” Lunsford, a sophomore, said. “I kind of knew something was going on, but I wasn’t for sure. I was just trying to keep calm.”

Though Lunsford bogeyed the last two regulation holes, she showed grit in scrambling for every save she could get. Lunsford pulled her drive on the first playoff hole well left, pushed the second shot into the right rough, hit her third shot over the green and tossed her chip shot well past the hole. But she still knocked down a stone-cold 15-foot putt to save par and keep herself in it. After missing state last season, she couldn’t help but be thrilled to be in contention for the title this year.

“It’s definitely a confidence booster. Last year I was really upset that I didn’t make it, and this year, most of my golf friends are seniors this year and I get to go to state with them. It’s going to be really fun, and I’m really excited,” she said.

Lexington Catholic’s Cecil had little warning that Lunsford and Eberle had dropped back to her at 2-over par. Playing three groups ahead of the then-leaders, Cecil birdied the short but difficult 295-yard par-4 18th hole to give herself a chance.

“I’ve never been in a playoff before, so I was so scared. I was shaking,” Cecil said. “But it was a really cool experience with some really cool golfers.”

Cecil, a junior, just missed out on matching her older sister Maddie Cecil’s 2018 individual region title for Paul Laurence Dunbar. Macy doesn’t mind settling for being a team region champ, a feat that eluded her sister’s Dunbar squads.

“So I got one up on her,” Cecil said, smiling.

High-stakes battle for top-two team finish

This year’s new KHSAA state tournament format sends two teams out of each regional to the State First Round. With Lexington Catholic pulling away late, all eyes were on the final golfers for Madison Central and Lexington Christian as they tried to lock down the final team spot.

Eberle knew the pressure was on her and her team for both the individual and team standings.

“Obviously, we were all pretty nervous, because there’s three good teams in our region and only two of them make it. But we all did a good job of composing ourselves out there,” Eberle said. “Sometimes putts drop. Sometimes they don’t. But I’m proud of our team and I’m really excited to move on.”

In the end, Madison Central was able to steady its nerves more than LCA down the stretch and notch a team total of 314, four strokes better than Lexington Christian. Each school fields five golfers with the top four scores combining for the team total. In addition to Eberle’s 73, Claire Beth Ramsey, the defending region champion scored 77, Abi Buchanan, 80 and Lydia Harrel had an 84 for the Indians. Their fifth golfer Mollie Neeley also shot 84.

LCA’s C.A. Carter and Carter Lankford both finished among the top 10 individual qualifiers for state outside the players advancing from the top two teams. Carter earned fifth place overall.

“They did great the whole year. I’m proud of them,” LCA Coach Matthew Soale said. “It was a roller coaster of a day.”

Lexington Catholic Coach Brad Bachand acknowledged his team played its best golf of the entire season this week — first with the eyebrow-raising 301 at Cherry Blossom Golf Club on Sunday, then with an equally stunning 304 at The Woodford Club on Tuesday. Sunday’s 301 vaulted LexCath to a fourth-place finish in the two-day All-State Championship behind Madison Central, Lexington Christian and Marshall County.

As Tuesday’s tournament wound down, Bachand knew his team was playing well, but he didn’t let them know.

“I never said a word until the 18th fairway when Kariann Campbell, our No. 1, was in the fairway and I said, ‘You don’t need to stress. We’re good.’ She’s like, ‘Don’t say that!’” Bachand said. He told her, “I think we’re far enough ahead. I think I can say that.”

Bachand wasn’t aware of Lexington Catholic ever making the girls’ state tournament as a team. It hasn’t in his eight years at the helm at least. That’s history now.

“I’m just really proud of the way they hung in there and fought,” Bachand said. “We were not the ones people were expecting to make it. … It’s a lot of fun seeing all of the hard work pay off. It’s a great feeling. Hopefully we’ll feel it again some time.”

Region 9 girls’ golf results

Top finishers and state qualifiers: 1. Elizabeth Eberle, Madison Central 73*; T2. Macy Cecil, Lexington Catholic 73; T2. Kylah Lunsford, Henry Clay 73; 4. Bella Brooks, Lexington Catholic 74; 5. C.A. Carter, Lexington Christian 74; 6. Kasey Cameron, Madison Southern 76; 7. Ashlynn Prater, Lafayette 76; 8. Channing Hagen, Henry Clay 77; 9. Maddie Easterling, Great Crossing 77; 10. Savannah Sachli, Franklin County 78; T11. Claira Beth Ramsey, Madison Central 77; T11. Kariann Campbell, Lexington Catholic 77; T13. Carter Lankford, Lexington Christian 79; T13. Sophie Lester, Woodford County 79; 14. Abigail Caine, Woodford County 81**

Some ties broken by scorecard tiebreaker. *Won playoff for championship. **Won playoff for final state qualifying spot.

Top 10 teams: 1. Lexington Catholic 304; 2. Madison Central 314; 3. Lexington Christian 318; 4. Henry Clay 330; 5. Franklin County 340; 6. Woodford County 346; T7. Lafayette 360; T7. Clark County 360; 9. Madison Southern 368; 10. Frankfort 381.

Complete results online: bit.ly/3BprwPe