Girls golf: Aubrie Rush shoots 76 to lead Avon to district; Avon Lake's long qualifying streak comes to an end but two Shoregals moving on

NORTH OLMSTED — The greens and fairways of the Springvale Golf Course were good to Avon again Monday as the Eagles returned to the site of their Southwestern Conference championship and emerged as a district qualifiers. Led by junior Aubrie Rush, who shot a 6-over 76, Avon finished third in the 16-team Division I sectional tournament with a score of 348 to earn one of four berths to the district tournament. "I felt pretty good about my round today," said Rush, who bettered her round in the SWC tournament by two strokes. "I had some holes I felt I could have done better on but that's golf. I think the course played longer today, there was rain so the course was a lot wetter. It was a little different today." Rush, who had the third-best score of the day in the 82-player field, was one of only six golfers to break 80. The Eagles finished comfortably in the top four as sophomore Allie Day shot 89 and seniors Casey Grant and Ainsley Gilcrist had 91 and 92, respectively. "The girls played really well today," Avon coach Aaron Millet said. "We actually got really lucky. It was supposed to rain all morning but it held off until we were on the 11th or 12th hole. "All of these girls have improved so much this season it's been really fun to watch. Early in the season I really wasn't sure about how far this team would go but they've worked hard and kept getting better." Day tied her personal-best round that she set in last week's SWC championship. "I'm really proud of myself," Day said. "I shot the same score I did on Wednesday, considering all of the things that were going against us with the rain and everything. I've worked really hard to get here. Everyone on this team has worked hard." Avon will be joined at the district tournament Oct. 12 at Brookledge Golf Club by Magnificat — the sectional champions with a round of 303 — Strongsville and St. Joseph. Blue Streaks sophomore Cara Heisterkamp was medalist with a 4-under 66. All four of Magnificat's scorers shot 80 or lower, including Avon Lake resident Ella Baird (80). The news wasn't as good for Avon Lake, which had its streak of 13 consecutive district appearances come to an end with a fifth-place finish after a round of 368. However, the Shoregals will still be represented at Brookledge as seniors Ashley Hubert (86) and Sarah Skaggs (89) earned two of the four individual qualifying spots. "I had a bit of a rocky start," Hubert said. "My drives weren't going straight and they weren't going far. My chipping and my putting made up for it. I made all of my putts within 5 feet." "It's almost kinda heartbreaking," Hubert said of Avon Lake failing to advance as a team. "I've been with these girls for so long. I've loved playing with them. They made me love the sport. Not having them by my side next Tuesday, I'm gonna feel it." Avon Lake was one of the first teams to complete their rounds so Skaggs had to sit around for a couple of hours to see if her 89 would be good enough. "Looking at all the scores I didn't know what to expect," she said. "I thought there was a chance I'd be in a playoff. It was nerve-wracking waiting for all of the scores to come in. I'm happy I made it through. Although our team didn't make it out at least Ashley and I have a chance to compete at districts." Avon Lake finished 15 shots behind St. Joseph Academy, which finished in the final qualifying position. "I'm happy Ashley and Sarah got out, they've been working for this all year, but it is bittersweet," Avon Lake coach Krystine Frisch said. "Girls golf is getting better and there were some great scores out there today. We have two great freshmen coming up and our underclassmen are always competitive so I think we're going to continue the tradition of being a competitive team well into the future." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Team results (Top four teams advance to district tournament): Magnificat 303, Strongsville 341, Avon 348, St. Joseph Academy 353, Avon Lake 368, Berea-Midpark 381, Rocky River 396, Brunswick 407, North Olmsted 427, Bay 428, North RIdgeville 432, Padua 434, Westlake 434, Cleveland Heights 450, Olmsted Falls 452. Midview 452 Medalist: Cara Heisterkamp, Magnificat, 66 Individual qualifiers (Top 4 individuals not on a qualifying team): Kate McKewon, Rocky River, 84; Ashley Hubert, Avon Lake, 86; Sarah Skaggs, Avon Lake, 89; Rachel Adams, North Olmsted 89 Qualifying teams Magnificat (303): Cara Heisterkamp 66, Cammy Reed 78, Ella Baird 80, Maureen O'Leary 79, Isabella Perez 88Strongsville (341): Natalie Kostalnick 74, Hannah Lee 79, Kendall Grau 97, Mridulaa Bardi 95, Taylor Bass 93Avon (348): Aubrie Rush 76, Ainsley Gilcrist 92, Madigan O"Leary 94, Casey Grant 91, Allie Day 89 St. Joseph Academy (353): Gianna Reginelli 82, Devon Maxwell 88, Hannah Caruso 92, Margaret Dalton 91, Caroline Neitzel 112 Local teams Avon Lake (368): Sophia Petrus 96, Sarah Skaggs 89, Ashley Hubert 86, Delaney Rush 105, Jenna Kennedy 97 Midview (452): Grace Seymour 112, Taylor Whiting 107, Sabrina Crowley 113, Makenna Rowe 120, Olivia DiFranco 128North Ridgeville (432): Aryana Edgell 95, Kamryn Lienerth 112, Gianna Betonte 113, Paige Bell 112Amherst (no team score): Addisyn Spakes 118. Lizzy Iliff 100, Hananiah Smith 109Elyria (no team score): Kloe Koepp 105 Other teams Bay (428): Maizy Ereditario 101, Halle Parks 103, Chaeli Ziebarth 110, Kathryn McFarland 134, Lauren McCarty 114Berea-Midpark (381): Kaitlyn Carlson 92, Kailee Carlson 90, Ella Powell 95, Jessica Crossen 104, Lia Rhodes 150Brunswick (407): Jaci Armstrong 118 , Mckenzie Berg 97, Aislinn Leffel 97, Lindsey Vozar 107, Mia Cameron 106Cleveland Heights (450): Samarah Roberson 103, Cecilla Adams 101, Nora Lee Reinhardt 116, Clare Dolan 130North Olmsted (427): Rachel Adams 89, Rose Lane 103, Hannah Sheley 113 , Kayla Weisenberger 124, Kenzie Sorg 122Olmsted Falls (452): Adriana Lakota 112, Enya Williams 118, Ava Harb 110, Makayla Gadowski 121, Ella Atkins 112Padua (434): Jennifer Marchak 112, Morgan Dailey 102, Hannah Alison 106, Dani Shigary 126, Mary Mangan 114Rocky River (396): Chloe Holton 101, Mia Ginnetti 107, Kate McKeown 84, Rachel Baird 104, Nora Sheridan 115Westlake (434): Gabby Pollak 100, Megan Forshey 93, Kaitlin Zink 112, Emma Pollak 129, Kerry Madden 133