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Records fall at NCHSAA girls golf state championships; Multiple teams repeat

— The NC High School Athletic Association holds the girls golf state championships on Monday and Tuesday. Below are recaps and results form each of the state championships

1A/2A: Newton-Conover wins 2nd straight title; Pine Lake Prep’s Johnson wins individual title

Newton-Conover won its second straight team state championship, pulling away from Pine Lake Prep on the second day of the 2022 1A/2A girls golf state championship at Foxfire Resort’s Red Fox Course. The Red Devils posted an 84-over combined score over the two-day tournament.

Caroline Johnson from Pine Lake Prep won the individual state championship at 4-over par for the tournament. She carded an even-par round in the final round to claim the title by four strokes over Malerie Lague from Christ the King, who held the overnight lead.

Johnson played steady on each nine, firing a 36 on both sides. She dumped in five birdies on the day on her way to becoming the first individual champion from Pine Lake Prep in girls golf.

Newton-Conover was led on day two by Sondra Uon, who carded a 10-over round to help the Red Devils to the championship. Celeste Little and Hailey Hicks each posted 14-over rounds on the final day to round out the scoring trio from Newton-Conover.

3A: Emily Matthews three-peat; Fike wins second straight team title

Emily Mathews collected her third consecutive 3A state championship pulling away from the field in the final round thanks to the second lowest round ever carded at the NCHSAA girls golf state championships. The Eastern Alamance star rolled to a 6-under 66 in the second round, posting a final total of 5-under 139 on the par 72 track at Longleaf Golf & Family Club.

Mathews’ rounds compiled matching nines of 33 in round two that included a bogey-free 4-under 33 on the final nine to clinch the title. She had four birdies on her front nine as well, but got tripped up on back-to-back holes, carding bogeys on the par three third and fourth holes.

Jacksonville’s Sanaa Carer finished second at 6-over for the tournament while Fike’s Breannon Council finished at 7-over in third place, leading the Golden Demons to their second straight 3A team state championship.

Fike outlasted South Central, as the Golden Demons’ top three scorers on each day combined for an 89-over mark to defeat South Central’s best three scores by 13 strokes.

The Golden Demons led by three shots over a trio of teams going into the final round, and used Council’s 3-over on the final day to pull away. Junior Avery Briley and sophomore Morgan Harold carded final rounds of 16 and 17-over, respectively, to round out the Fike scoring.

4A: Myers Park’s Rudisill makes history; Pinecrest wins team title

The all-time scoring record for the NCHSAA girls golf state championships went by the wayside as Elizabeth Rudisill from Myers Park completed 36 holes with a 10-under 134 to win the 4A state championship at Pinehurst No. 6.

Rudisill carded a 5-under 67 in both rounds of the competition to best the all-time scoring record of 136 set by East Henderson’s Blair Lamb in 2003.

Rudisill’s championship made her the first individual state champion in girls golf from Myers Park. She entered the final round with a four-shot advantage over Alicia Fang from Marvin Ridge and played a steady 1-under on the front nine, carding her lone birdie of the front nine on the par 5 sixth hole. After making the turn, Rudisill put away any doubt of a comeback by eagleing the par 5 tenth and adding birdies on the twelfth and fifteenth holes on her way to a bogeyless round of 67. Her lone bogey of the tournament came in the first round on the fourth hole.

Fang played exceptionally well as well, firing a 1-under 71 on day one followed by a 2-under 70 in the final round of play. Most other years that would have been enough for a title, but Rudisill out-dueled her fellow sophomore.

Myers Park entered the day with a four-shot lead over second place Pinecrest in the team standings, but the Patriots top three combined for a stellar 14-over total in the final round to nip the Mustangs by two shots in the final team standings after Myers Park’s top three posted a combined round of 20-over on the last day.

The Patriots collected the school’s fifth team state championship in girls golf. Freshman Julia Herzberg led the Patriots on the final day firing a 1-under 71 to finish the tournament at 8-over in sixth place. The other two scoring marks for Pinecrest on the final day of the tournament were Camilah Porras and Boonyanant Rujiranan who posted scores of 5-over and 10-over, respectively.

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