CASEYVILLE – Nicole Johnson’s one-under-par 71, which gave her second place in the individual standings, combined with Grace Daech’s 78, where she finished fifth, were the top scores on the day for Edwardsville’s girls golf team as the Tigers finished second in the Metro-East Shootout Tuesday afternoon at Fair Oaks Golf Course in Caseyville.
Edwardsville’s team score of 318 gave them the runner-up spot behind O’Fallon, who won the team title with a 308. Marquette Catholic was third with a score of 332, Alton came in fourth at 353, Collinsville and Belleville East finished in a fifth-place tie with each shooting a 370, Triad came in seventh with a 375, Belleville West was eighth with a score of 384, Mascoutah ninth with a 402, Highland placed 10th, shooting a 410, Nashville came in 11th with a 420, and Belleville Althoff Catholic was 12th, shooting a 425.
It was a very good overall performance from the Tigers, who had many good individual performances on the day.
“It went good today,” said Edwardsville coach Libby Koonce. “Nicole shot a 71, and I’m really super happy, Grace Daech had a 78, and that’s awesome. She’s really super happy. She shot a 42 on the back nine, and that was great. All in all, it was just a great effort today by a very good team.”
The announcement made yesterday by the Illinois High School Association that there would only be a regional championship played this fall involving schools from each COVID-19 district. The Tigers play in District 4 with other schools in the Metro-East area.
“We’re obviously disappointed with the decision of the IHSA, and I wish that we could have a full postseason,” Koonce said. “But it’s 2020, it is what it is. and I’m just glad every time we get to go out and play golf.”
Besides Johnson and Daech, Caitlyn Dicks had an 82 for the Tigers, while Riley Burns shot an 83, Sydney Weedman fired an 87, and Bailey Vorachek had an 111 on the day.
Edwardsville is off to a great start for the season, and will host a dual meet against O’Fallon on Wednesday at Sunset Hills Country Club, then hosts its own Edwardsville Challenge Tournament at Sunset Hills on Saturday before moving on to the first round of the Southwestern Conference tournament next Tuesday at Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River. There are challenges ahead for the team, but Koonce is very confident about the Tigers’ chances.
“It has been a good start to the season,” Koonce said, “my team really likes Belk, and I think we’ll play well.”
