Girls golf: Avon Lake qualifies to district tournament for 13th consecutive year

AVON LAKE — It turns out 13 was a lucky number for Avon Lake on Tuesday in the Division I sectional tournament. The Shoregals qualified for districts for the 13th consecutive year with a round of 387, which was good enough for a third-place finish at the Sweetbriar Legacy Course. Senior Keely McGinty led Avon Lake with a round on 92, but it was only fitting that right behind her was fellow senior Maggie Masterson, who had the 13th-best score in the field with a 96. "It's awesome to be going back to districts for my fourth year," Masterson said. "I did not have the greatest day but it is so nice to know I get another opportunity. I can't believe the season is coming to an end. I'm already looking forward to next week. The Shoregals will be joined at the district tournament at Ellsworth Meadows Golf Club in Hudson by sectional champion Magnificat, which shot 337, Southwestern Conference champion Olmsted Falls (384) and Strongsville (390). "It was a good round and I am proud of how they grinded it out. This is our 13th year making it out. It was lucky 13. I didn't want to break the streak," Avon Lake coach Krystine Frisch said. "Our strength has been our depth and their maturity to support each other. I like this chemistry on this team. It's been a great team to coach." The Shoregals rounded out their scorecard with a 98 from junior Ashley Hubert and sophomore Abby Madden's 101. "I struggled a little bit today. I hit a decent amount of good shots but my putting was off," McGinty said. "We all work really hard and we work well together and push each other to do our best. On a day where we all struggled a little bit, that teamwork paid off." Magnificat freshman Cara Heisterkamp took medalist honors, setting a blistering pace with a 3-under 69, nine strokes in front of runnerup Alyson Veverka of Olmsted Falls, who shot 78, after putting up a 79 on the same course as medalist of the SWC tournament last week. Avon shot 395 as a team to finish fifth, five strokes shy of the final qualifying position, but the Eagles will be represented at districts by sophomore Aubrie Rush and junior Ainsley Gillcrist. The duo claimed two of the four individual qualifying berths. Rush's 92 tied McGinty for the best score from the Lorain County contingent of golfers and placed her second among the individual qualifiers. "I had my ups and my downs. I had my good holes and my bad holes," Rush said. "Overall, I didn't think my round was very good today. There were a lot more bad holes than good holes but it was good enough to advance." Earlier in the season Rush shot 77 on the Legacy Course in the Magnificat Invitational and an 86 in the SWC tournament, so it was understandable that she was frustrated despite heading to districts for the second straight year. "I feel good that I played well enough to get out but I know I have to practice more so I can improve for next week," Rush said. Gillcrist shot 97 and thought her season was over. She was headed home when she got a call from Avon coach Aaron Millet, telling her to get back to the course and prepare for a possible playoff. When the final scores came in, Gillcrist was one of three tied for the final two qualifying spots. She and Westlake's Kayla Schuemann earned the final two positions on the first playoff hole. "When I got out there for the playoff, I was nervous," Gillcrist said. "I was shaking a little bit, but I just remembered what my coaches tell me, 'Stay calm and remember to bring the club back slow.' Although I didn't have my best round today I made it, so it's OK." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Team results: 1. Magnificat 337, 2. Olmsted Falls 384, 3. Avon Lake 387, 4. Strongsville 390, 5. Avon 395, 6. Berea-Midpark 403, 7. St. Jospeh Academy 405, 8. Westlake 433, 9. Padua 456, t10. Midview 466, t10. Rocky River 466, 12. Bay 469, 13. Eastlake North 469, 14. Amherst 490, 15. North Ridgeville 491, 16. Cleveland Heights 520. Medalist: Cara Heisterkamp, Magnificat, 69 Individual qualifiers: Katie Kane, St. Joseph Academy, 90; Aubrie Rush, Avon, 97; Anisley Gillcrist, Avon 97*; Kayla Schuemann, Westlake, 97* *Won three-way playoff for final qualifying positions. Individual results: Magnificat (337): Cara Heisterkamp 69, Ellen O'Leary 85, Ella Baird 90, Claire Schramko 93, Isabella Paez 95. Olmsted Falls (384): Alyson Veverka 78, Rebecca Abbott 104, Sydney Ott 95, Morgan Deemoy 107, Olivia O'Malley 121. Avon Lake (387): Maggie Masterson 96, Keely McGinty 92, Sarah Skaggs 106, Ashley Hubert 98, Abby Madden 101. Strongsville (390): Natalie Kostalnick 83, Reagan Bass 91, Grace DuPerow 126, Madison Gilbert 107, Taylor Bass 109. Avon (395): Aubrie Rush 92, Ainsley Gillcrist 97, Kavita Nanda 104, Isabella LaBianca 119, Cassidy Rush 102. Berea-Midpark (403): MacKenzie Haneberg 106, Ella Powell 100, Kaitlyn Carlson 112, Samantha Parker 98, Kailee Carlson 99. St. Joseph Academy (405): Katie Kane 90, Devon Maxwell 101, Meagan Figler 108, Catherine Dial 106, Mattie Krankowski 140. Westlake (433): Kayla Schuemann 97, Sydney Schons 112, Sadie DeAngelo 111, Emma Pollak 113, Gabby Pollak 128. Padua (456): Stephanie Neff 105, Carli Urban 104, Jennifer Marchak 120, Morgan Dailey 127, Meara Kwiatkowski 131. Midview (466): Olivia Birth 99, Callah Bradley 123, Mya DiFranco 124, Grace Seymour 120, Sabrina Crowley 137. Rocky River (466): Kate McKeown 104, Ciara Grieve119, Lauren Solecki 137, Sarah Farling 118, Chloe Holton 125. Bay (469): Maizy Ereditario 108, Halle Parks 111, Lauren McCarty 127, Audrey Hyland 123, Margot Giese 130. Eastlake North (469): McKenna Naymick 97, Hailie Wilson 103, Amaya Toney 146, Ryann Winters 140, Hailey Summers 129. Amherst (490): CeCe Iliff 106, Addisyn Spakes 124, Lizzy Iliff 127, Rauch Kennedy 133. North Ridgeville (491): Aryana Edgell 105, Kamryn Lienerth 117, A.J. Jacovetti 125, Paige 144, Marissa Harris 145. Cleveland Heights (520): Cecilia Adams 136, Samarah Roberson 120, Clare Dolan 138, Nora Lee Reinhardt 126, Adele Dooner 154. Buckeye: Lilly Porta 134 Elyria: Camden Burgess 115, Kloe Koepp 109 North Olmsted: Rachel Adams 100, Natalie Delaney 167.