Mittal to lead Athenians
The Crawfordsville girls golf team will be led by returning ace Bailey Mittal.
The senior is coming off an All-SAC and regional qualification season in 2019, and coach Tony Thomas is hoping she can help lead the Athenians to competitive rounds at the county, conference, and sectional meets.
“A big goal the girls are talking about is county and sectional,” he said. “With South graduating five seniors, the county is wide open and should be competitive.”
At the sectional last fall, the Athenians finished sixth, but are hoping to climb the ladder with their returning group, led by Mittal.
The Athenians also return seniors Evie and Gwyn Redding, along with sophomore Sadie Walker. Freshman Carli Payne rounds out the roster.
“Our success will be determined by working on the right things in practice,” Thomas said. “Right now, we’re not hitting greens and so we spend a lot of time on second shots. To be one of the three teams to get out of the sectional, our young kids will need to grow up fast — and our seniors need to step up, lead by example, put in the time, and improve their game too.”
Chargers hoping to see improvement throughout season
ntgomery girls golf team is hoping to see continued improvement thoughout the 2020 season.
Morgan Swick, Grace Littell, Grace Shrader, Ella Stultz, and Maggie Yeager all return for the Chargers, while newcomers Rylie Koopman and Shayna Ratcliff round out the roster.
The biggest challenge has been making up for lost time on the course in the spring and early summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They have adapted very well,” coach Nick Johnson said. “We didn’t get the offseason we wanted, but they are starting to get back in the groove of things and starting to hit the ball better.”
North Montgomery’s goals for the upcoming season are pretty simple.
“The team goal is to break 200,” Johnson added. “Personal goal is to see steady improvement throughout the season.”
Johnson says the short game will continue to be the focus for the Chargers if they want to see that improvement.
“Short game from 100 yards in,” he said. “The area of the game that most shots are lost.”
Mounties to reload following sectional title
NEW MARKET — Southmont girls golf set records in 2019.
The Mounties broke almost every school record and won the programs’ first IHSAA Sectional title with a team full of seniors.
Now it’s time to reload with a new, younger crop of players.
Juniors Macee Shirk and Taylor Grino along with sophomore Stella Snook return, while Freshmen Hanna Long, Olivia Gray, Courtlyn Carpenter and junior Bailey Barker are new to the program.
“Although we graduated our top-5 from last year we still have experience coming back,” Southmont coach Bill Whalen said. “That is very important to have that leadership to help the new girls learn what is expected. We certainly had a very successful season last year and I want to use that as a springboard to continue growing this program for this year and the future.”
Whalen will continue to focus on the basics with his young team.
“I think it is important for all of our players to stay with the basics,” he said. “We have to be good at 100 yards in. Chipping and putting are our keys to playing well.”
Southmont will set their goals meet by meet, and focus on what they can control throughout the season.
“We set team scoring goals before each match depending on the course and conditions,” Whalen added. “We don’t set conference, sectional or total win goals because we can’t control how the other teams play. We can only control our score."
