Golf is quite often a sport looked at as ‘boring.’ The CHS girls’ golf team is everything but that.
Throughout the season, the Trojans experienced a roller coaster ride of success. After an action packed early August, that included wins over Plymouth and Winamac, the girls struggled with a 6th place finish at the Lake Central Invitational followed by an 8th place finish at the Kankakee Valley Invite. The girls continued to work, every day practicing and honing the proper skills each girl needed to significantly improve. As the season progressed, the team picked up victories in duel and tri-team matches, but still struggled to put it together in the pressure packed weekend invites that featured exceptional teams from around the state. Despite some of the lower invite finishes, Coach Toby Gentry continued to work with the girls, and slowly but surely, the progress began to show late in the season. Despite a close loss to Munster to end the regular season, they had high hopes for their postseason.
Their first postseason tournament, the sectional tournament, consisted of 9 teams and was played at Valparaiso’s home course at the Valpo Country Club. As expected, Valpo won, but Chesterton finished in second place with a score of 389, beating third-place Portage by 56 strokes. Junior Maddie Soffin led the Trojans finishing third overall, shooting an 87. Surging freshman Kristin McCoy, [sister of former CHS golfer and current Valparaiso University golfer] Kaitlyn McCoy, followed closely with her fourth-place finish, shooting a 90.
After their performance in sectionals, most of the Chesterton fans were hoping for the best, expecting a fine season to come to an end. After all, regionals were held at Sandy Pines Golf Club in Demotte, where the Trojans had shot an undesirable 404 earlier in the year at the aforementioned KV Invite. Going into the regional, based on previous scores, Chesterton was expected to finish outside of the cutline by a significant margin. The lady Trojans had other ideas, with each golfer rising to the occasion resulting in a special and spectacular day for the team. McCoy shooting an 81, and Soffin followed closely with an 84. Seniors Alize Lawrence and Peighton Metcalf also got in on the career day, posting 97, and 93 respectively. Each player shaved so many strokes from their previous score, that the Trojans found themselves with a 355, a whopping 49 strokes less than they had just 47 days prior. This put the Trojans on the podium, where they shocked the field and their own fanbase, finishing third overall. The Trojans had qualified for state, a feat not even on the radar at season’s beginning, and beat fourth-place Rochester by just one stroke.
The whole community is thrilled for the Lady Trojan golfers. They will compete at Prairie View Golf Course in Carmel, Indiana on September 29 and 30. If you can, make your way down to support the Trojans!
