MONDAY-TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13-14 | UNIVERSITY RIDGE, VERONA, WI | CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP

WIAA STATE GIRLS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

WisconsinWisconsinGolferGolferSPECIAL EDITION

REIGNING CHAMPS Verona Area, Madison Edgewood

prevail at soggy U-Ridge

Mother Nature, literally and figuratively, didher best to rain on the 43rd annual WIAA StateGirls Golf Championships parade.Despite the wet conditions the state’s top

teams and individuals persevered at the two-day tournament held at University Ridge inVerona culminating, in their respective divi-sions, with two team champions and two indi-vidual champions.You can read about the 2014 champions on

Page 5 and follow all the other action in wordsand pictures in this special digital edition pub-lished by Wisconsin Golfer magazine.

Wisconsin Golfer is the official publication ofthe Wisconsin State Golf Association. Pleasewatch your email for the upcoming Novem-ber/December issue of Wisconsin Golfer, orclick here for your free subscription.This digital publication is brought to you by

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WIAA State Girls Golf ChampionshipsA RECAP OF THE 2014 TOURNAMENT

2 | 43RD WIAA STATE GIRLS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

COMPETING AGAINST MOTHER NATUREThe story of this year’s state tournament was

less a battle against each other and more a battleagainst the elements.

Sideways rain, gusty wind, chilly temps and asaturated course wreaked havoc on this year’scompetitors.

When asked if she’d ever seen worse weatherfor a high school tournament, Peggy Gierhart, headcoach of Madison Edgewood, was quick to re-spond. “From start to finish, no. This is the worst.”

“We had two umbrellas snap, we had numb feet,numb hands, we had a few tears, but luckily therewas a break at the turn (in the final round) wherepeople could regroup and warm up,” said Gierhart.

Madison Edgewood senior Tess Hackworthy,who bought a new pair of shoes from the proshop at the turn because hers were so wet,treated it as business as usual. “The good thing iseveryone had to play in it, so everyone had thesame conditions. You just had to grind through itall the way.”

The grittiness that the players showed was im-pressive, even to their coaches. “It’s amazing howtough these girls are,” said Gierhart.

ON THE COURSELoren Skibba of Middleton,top left, won the WIAA Division 1 individual titlethanks in large part to herround of 69 on Monday. TessHackworthy of MadisonEdgewood, above, celebratedboth team and individual victories with her teammates.Jessica Reinecke, left, finishedfifth among individuals whileleading her Verona Areateam to the Division 1 championship.

4 | 43RD WIAA STATE GIRLS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

43RD WIAA STATE GIRLS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS | 5

Madison area teams sweep WIAA titlesVERONA AREA WINS FIRST TEAM TITLE; MADISON EDGEWOOD KEEPS IT ROLLING

he broad smile on Jessica Reinecke’s face ex-plained everything.

Moments after the two-time defending Division Imedalist from Verona had completed her highschool golf career with a fifth place individual finishat University Ridge in Verona, she was absolutelybeaming as she enjoyed the moment with herteammates.

The reason for her smile? The Verona Area Wild-cats had won their first WIAA girls team golf cham-pionship.

“Amazing,” said Verona Areacoach Bailey Hildebrandt. “I’m re-ally proud of these girls. We hadtwo tough days weather-wise, andthey dug deep and played well. Icouldn’t be prouder.”

Verona Area shot the lowestscore each of the two days of thetournament in Division 1 to finishat 648 (315-333) and beat runner-up Hartland Arrowhead, whichrecorded the second-lowest scoreeach day, by eight strokes. Arrow-head, which beat Verona Area by 10 strokes lastyear, shot 319-337–656.

Middleton finished third in Division 1 (320-350–670),and Mequon Homestead was fourth (336-345–681).

Reinecke was trying to add her name to the shortlist of players who have won three state high schoolgolf titles, but she fell behind Loren Skibba of Mid-dleton after Skibba recorded a fine round of 69 in

the opening round Monday. Trailing by five strokesgoing into the final round, Reinecke closed with an81 Tuesday and finished in fifth place.

So instead of another individual championship,Reinecke got to celebrate a team title with herfriends, and enjoy a ride home on a Verona firetruck, lights a blazing, to boot.

“This is what she wanted,” Hildebrandt said of Rei-necke. “She was going for the three-peat, but I thinkthe team championship meant a lot to her and

that’s what she wanted. She’s avery supportive teammate.”

Last year, Skibba finished fifthbehind the medalist Reinecke, butthey switched places on theleaderboard this year. Skibba saidshe was confident her opening 69would hold up through some trulyawful weather conditions duringthe second round. The two playersfrom the Madison area haveplayed junior golf against eachother since they were about 10,Reinecke said, and now their high

school rivalry is coming to an end.“We’ve competed all year together,” Skibba said.

“It’s nice to finally get one on her. She’s a great com-petitor, so I’ve enjoyed playing with her all theseyears.”

After the final round, Reinecke said she hit the ballwell, but struggled with her putting.

“My goal coming in was just to play my best, and

T

We’re not really allowed to talk muchabout winning.(Edgewood players)feel a lot of pressure.They try not to showit, and we try not totalk about it.

– PEGGY GIERHART, MADISON EDGEWOOD COACH

“

“

I didn’t necessarily do that, so I missed that goal,” saidReinecke. “To (win) it as a team is definitely exciting.”

For her part, Skibba said she succeeded becauseshe stayed out of trouble, which lurks everywhereat University Ridge even in benign weather conditions.

“I didn’t lose any golf balls this week,” Skibba saidwith a laugh.

Behind Skibba, Anika Hitt of Homestead recordedher second consecutive runner-up finish at state,shooting 74-77–151. Allison Chomniak of Arrow-head was third in Division 1 (76-76–152), and GraceDunn of Brookfield Central finished fourth (77-76–153), two strokes lower than Reinecke.––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Click here for complete Division 1 scores––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

In division 2, the players’ names keep changingbut the Madison Edgewood juggernaut under coachPeggy Gierhart keeps chugging along. Edgewoodwon its fourth consecutive Division 2 team champi-onship this week and its 13th girls state golf title inthe last 14 years.

Gierhart said the key this time around was pa-tience – and who could argue the point based solelyon the weather – but she also explained that her girlshave done a great job dealing with the pressure that

comes with the program’s high expectations.“We’re not really allowed to talk much about win-

ning,” she said. “(Edgewood players) feel a lot ofpressure. They try not to show it, and we try not totalk about it. We really try to laugh things off. Weprepare really hard, but at the same time there are

a lot of jokes, a lot of laughter.”Along with a light attitude, Edgewood also boasts

some terrific players, as in medalist Tess Hackwor-thy (74-76–150) and runner-up Caroline Lake (79-75–154). Last year at state, Lake played from the No. 1spot in Edgewood’s lineup, and she took homemedalist honors. This year, Hackworthy was Edge-

wood’s No. 1 at state, and, now, state individualchampion. According to Gierhart, the two playersare so close ability-wise, she actually alternatesthem in tournaments between the No. 1 and 2 spots.

Call them 1A and 1B. Fittingly, they’re also bestfriends.

6 | 43RD WIAA STATE GIRLS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

I’m really proud of these girls. We had two tough days weather-wise,and they dug deep and played well. I couldn’t be prouder.

– BAILEY HILDEBRANDT, VERONA AREA COACH

“ “

Anika Hitt

“It’s definitely the cherry on top of my season thisyear,” Hackworthy said of winning the Division 2 in-dividual title. “I’ve been preparing all year, and theselast four years, so it’s great to finish strong like this.”

Hackworthy said her win was especially satisfyingafter last season at state, where she signed an in-correct scorecard on day two and was disqualified.After Tuesday’s final round, Lake admitted a repeat

individual title would have been nice, but bothshe and Hackworthy insisted there is no rivalrybetween them.“I can’t say I’m disappointed,” Lake said. “It would

have been nice to have a second win, but Tess is mybest friend, and I’m so excited she got to have a

championship for herself.”Edgewood finished with team scores of 328-331–

659, and for the second straight year Fox ValleyLutheran (343-372–715) was runner-up. Spooner(358-394–752) finished third.

Two players who qualified for state as individualswere next on the Division 2 leaderboard. SarahBusey of Racine St. Catherine’s shot 76-81–150 tofinish third, and Stanley Wang of Saint Thomas Moreshot 82-81–163 to finish fourth. Kayla Priebe of FoxValley Lutheran finished fifth.––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Click here for complete Division 2 scores––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The conclusion of the WIAA State Girls GolfChampionships brought with it the end of highschool golf careers for some of the state’smost decorated seniors. Several, however,have chosen their college destinations and willcontinue their careers at the collegiate level.

Madison Edgewood senior Tess Hackworthyand Verona Area senior Jessica Reinecke willboth be joining the Wisconsin Badgers in thefall to play for head coach Todd Oehrlein. Intheir final state tournament appearances,Hackworthy turned in a 6-over-par 150 (74-76)to earn Division 2 medalist honors, while Rei-

necke finished in fifth place with an 11-over-par 155 (74-81).

Homestead’s Anika Hitt will play golf andstudy business at the University of Cincinnatinext fall. Hitt was the Division 1 runner-up afterposting a 7-over-par 151 (74-77).

Edgewood’s Caroline Lake has decided toplay for Creighton University. Division 2 runner-up Lake finished with a 10-over-par 154 (79-75).

Grace Dunn, a senior at Brookfield Central, isheaded to Drake University. She capped off herhigh school career with a fourth-place finish at9-over-par 153 (77-76).

SENIORS WILL NEXT TEE IT UP AT THE D-I COLLEGE LEVEL

43RD WIAA STATE GIRLS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS | 9

Caroline Lake

GraceDunn

Anika HittTess Hackworthy

JessicaReinecke

The focus of the sports world returns to the Wisconsin shores of Lake Michigan at Whistling Straits in August of 2015 for the 97th PGA Championship.

Remaining tickets are now on sale! Visit pgachampionship.com for more details on available tickets and volunteer opportunities.

Whistling Straits is also the proud host of the 2020 Ryder Cup.

AUGUST 10 - 16, 2015 • WHISTLING STRAITS • KOHLER, WISCONSIN

THIS IS MAJORTHIS IS THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

© 2014 The PGA, PGA Championship and Ryder Cup names, logos and marks are a trademark of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America.

Sarah BuseyRacine St. Catherine’s

Caroline Lake, Edgewood

Noelle Koepp, Fox Valley Lutheran

Kayla Priebe, Fox Valley Lutheran

Lauren Klauck,Eau Claire North

Meredith Nelson, Osceola

Natalie Myers, EdgewoodEmily Balding,

Brookfield Central

Maddy Neumeier,Green Bay Preble

Nina Galang, Brookfield East

Courtney Bergum, Holmen

Speedy KentHomestead

Tess Hackworthy, Edgewood

43RD WIAA GIRLS STATE GOLF TOURNAMENT | 15

INDIVIDUALS1 Loren Skibba Middleton 69-78–1472 Anika Hitt Homestead 74-77–1513 Allison Chomniak Arrowhead 76-76–1524 Grace Dunn Brookfield Central 77-76–1535 Jessica Reinecke Verona Area 74-81–155T6 CheyAnn Knudsen MIlton 78-79–157T6 Bailey Smith Verona Area 76-81–1578 Speedy Kent Homestead 78-80–1589 Robyn Blanchard Madison Memorial 76-83–159T10 Maddy Neumeier Green Bay Preble 77-83–160T10 Courtney Bergum Holmen 76-84–160

INDIVIDUALS1 Tess Hackworthy Edgewood 74-76–1502 Caroline Lake Edgewood 79-75–1543 Sarah Busey Racine St Catherine's 76-81–1574 Stanley Wang Saint Thomas More 82-81–1635 Kayla Priebe Fox Valley Lutheran 82-83–165T6 Bailey Schmidt Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau 82-84–166T6 Lori Meyer Freedom 80-86–166T6 Meredith Nelson Osceola 81-85–1669 Katie Arneson Edgewood 86-84–17010 Amanda Pederson Osseo-Fairchild 85-87–172

TEAM LEADERS1 Verona Area +722 Arrowhead +803 Middleton +944 Homestead +1055 MIlton +1246 Notre Dame +1347 Brookfield Central +1418 Mukwonago +1479 Whitefish Bay +15410 Kimberly +15911 Tomah +20412 Rice Lake +209

TEAM LEADERS1 Edgewood +832 Fox Valley Lutheran +1393 Spooner +1764 The Prairie School +1775 Osceola +1916 Osseo-Fairchild +228

Wisconsin Girls Tournament Results

DIVISION 1 DIVISION 2

VIEW INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

VIEW TEAM RESULTS

VIEW TEAM RESULTS

VIEW INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

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ON THE COVER: With puddles in the fairway, Wisconsin high schoolers persevere throughsteady rain Tuesday at University Ridge in Verona.(Photo by Rick Pledl.)

All photos by Rick Pledl and Erin Eagan

Published by Killarney Golf Media, Inc.

PUBLISHERJohn Hughes | jhughes@wisgolfer.com

GENERAL MANAGERJim Kelsh | jkelsh@wisgolfer.com

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WisconsinWisconsinGolferGolferSPECIAL EDITION

Hartford Union High School player Amy Holzer and coach Scott Helms bring a bit of color to the proceedingsat University Ridge on Monday. They’re pictured discussing strategy in the middle of the 13th fairway.