Bengals Best: Blythewood High earns 5A girls golf state championship
The Blythewood girls golf team has been the dominant program in Class 5A this season and capped it off with a state championship Tuesday at the Country Club of South Carolina.
The Bengals shot a two-day total of 583 and won by 47 strokes over second-place Chapin.
It was Blythewood’s second title in three years.
“It is hard to put into words but we are very excited and blessed to have this group of girls,” Blythewood coach Jason Minkel said. “It is awesome that our seniors could go out on top with an undefeated season. We won every event by a pretty good margin. It goes back to how hard they worked and the time they put in.”
Blythewood won all 11 tournaments this year by an average of 29.9 strokes. They were under-par in four of the 11 tournaments.
The Bengals shot a 1-under 287 on Tuesday after an 8-over 296 on Monday. Minkel said his team wasn’t happy with how they played in the first round despite carrying a 17-shot lead in the final day.
Minkel reminded them of two years ago when they began the second round with just a three-shot lead and it went down to the final nine holes.
“Their expectations are so high, that is the biggest challenge for us to stay hungry and go for it,” Minkel said. “When you don’t have your best round and still play well, that is a testament of how far we have come in the last three or four years and how hard we worked.”
Blythewood placed three on the all-state team, which is made up of the top 10 golfers in the event. Senior Paige Paolucci was third overall with a 3-under 143. The Anderson University commit shot a 5-under 67 on Tuesday for the low round of the day.
Eighth-grader Caroline Hawkins (145) was fifth and Ella Stalvey (147) tied for sixth. Elizabeth Maddon (151) was 11th.
Lexington senior and Clemson commit Isabella Rawl was the individual state champion for the second time in her career. Rawl shot a 7-under 137 to win by one stroke over St. James Adrian Anderson.
Rawl also won the event as a freshman and joins LPGA professional Lauren Stephenson as the only Wildcat golfer to win multiple individual state championships. As a team, Lexington finished fourth.
Lower State champion Chapin was second after shooting a 630. It was the Eagles’ best finish since moving to Class 5A. Chapin finished second in 2011 when it was in Class 3A.
Chapin’s Emily Baker (147) tied for sixth and was all-state.
Team Scores: Blythewood 583; Chapin 630; Dorman 645; Lexington 660; Wando 672; TL Hanna 684; Byrnes 692; St. James 695; Spartanburg 715; Gaffney 734; Mauldin 735; Stratford 735; River Bluff 748; Conway 753; Boiling Springs 769; Carolina Forest 775.
All-State (Top-10 finishers): Isabella Rawl, Lex 137; Adrian Anderson, SJ, 138; Paige Paolucci, Bwood, 141; Mia Gray CF, 143; Carolina Hawkins, Bwood, u145; Emily Baker, Chap, 147; Ella Stalvey, Bwood 147; Taylor Reaves, Con, 147; Olivia Pellerin, Mau, 147; Ivy Schultze, TLH, 148.
Class 3A
A tough front nine on Tuesday hurt Gilbert’s chances for a repeat in Class 3A girls championship at Hackler Course in Conway.
The Indians shot 165 on front nine and ended up finishing second with a two-day total of 609. The mark was a school record as the 140 shot on the back nine. Chesnee won the tournament with a 609 and Eagles’ Sydney Roberts was medalist with a 136. Gilbert’s Kennedy Gooding was second with a 142 and Alexis Hodge shot a 153 to earn all-state honors.
Class 4A
May River repeated as Class 4A champions with a dominating performance at Crescent Pointe Golf Club.
The Sharks shot a 639 to win by 44 shots over region foe Hilton Head Island. Myrtle Beach’s Madison Messimer was individual state champion with a 142.
AC Flora was fifth with a 693 and Sarah Campbell Brown was all-state.
Team Scores: May River 639; Hilton Head Island 683; Catawba Ridge 688; Pickens 689; AC Flora 693; North Myrtle Beach 707; West Florence 717; Bluffton 755; Greenwood 770; South Aiken 773; Myrtle Beach 775; South Florence 780; Greenville 781; Aiken 781; Walhalla 797
All-State: Maddison Messimer, MB, 142; Kylie Bowes 147; Cara Hiburn, NMB, 147; Alexia Milbrandt, HHI, 151; Alla McGillivray, WF, 154; Robbin Zetrouer, MR, 156; Claire Lewis, Gwood 156; Hannah Palmer, SF, 156; Katherine Mann, CR, 158; Sarah Campbell Brown, ACF, 162; Claire Green, MR, 162.
This story was originally published October 26, 2021 at 4:47 PM.
