By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
Westosha Central High School senior Emily Allen hung on to qualify for the WIAA Division 1 girls golf sectionals Wednesday at Par 72 Broadlands Golf Course in North Prairie.
Union Grove won the regional while Waterford finished second. Rounding out the teams qualifying for sectionals were Mukwonago and Waukesha Co-Op.
Waterford senior Taitum Beck notched the regional championship by one stroke, finishing with an 80, edging Jessica Kuzniewski of Waukesha.
Westosha Central/Shoreland finished sixth and Wilmot Union High School took seventh among the nine schools.
According to Falcons coach Dan Peterson, the Falcons were third after the front nine, but Mukwonago and Catholic Memorial improved their scores by 20 and 19 in the back nine to jump ahead.
“I know that all of the girls were disappointed they did not qualify as a team. Being in 3rd place at the turn the girls were feeling confident,” Peterson said. “They could only control how they can play and I felt they did that.”
Allen, the Falcons sole representative, finished with a 90 to tie for 12th as the fourth and final individual qualifier from schools who did not advance as a team.
But, Allen, who is No. 4 in the rotation, had to wait until all the No. 3 golfers finished their rounds to find out.
Peterson stated that while Allen was anxious, the coaching staff and her teammates kept her calm.
“I would say she was nervous but the other girls and Coach Aimie Edenhofer kept things light for her,” said Peterson, who knew what teams qualified after the all No. 3 golfers finished. “At that point they were doing the math and knew she had made it individually.”
Allen, who finished ninth at the SLC meet, has shown better flow in her swing, Peterson said.
“I would say both her mechanics and confidence have been her formula for success,” he said. “Emily is very instinctive and has the ability to find ways to score well on almost every hole due to the confidence she has in her swing.”
While Allen hung on, Wilmot Union High School sophomore Lauren Christensen narrowly missed, coming up on stroke shy of tying with Allen.
Christensen, who had a 45 on the front nine, finished with a 91 to take 16th.
Finishing behind Christensen were two of the Falcons three sectional qualifiers from last year, seniors Colleen Nolan and Mallory Scheppa.
Nolan, who scored a 92, came into a tie for 17th with Waukesha Catholic Memorial’s Ashley Weber.
Scheppa, meanwhile, took 19th after shooting a 93.
For Wilmot, senior McKenna Stanek scored a 97 for 26th, and sophomore Keegan Destree and junior Madison Bailey finished in a three-way tie for 31st, when they notched a 101.
Despite coming up short, Stanek stayed upbeat by offering encouragement to her teammates, according to Destree.
“She had a very positive attitude and kept the team going, even if she had a bad day, she always stayed positive,” Destree said.
While Destree acknowledged Stanek will be difficult to replace, herself, along with Christensen, in addition to Bailey and sophomore Audrey Awe should be a formidable team next year.
Christensen took 10th at the SLC meet.
“I am going to practice this summer and hope to be the No. 1 golfer entering next year,” said Destree, who took seventh in the SLC.