Jay tops Southside

The highest nine-hole score of the young season was still good enough to earn the Patriots a win.
Playing on its home course for the third time in four days, but on the back nine for the first time, the Jay County High School girls golf team knocked off the Muncie Southside Rebels 222-240.
The Patriots posted scores of 212 and 124 on the front nine Monday and Tuesday respectively.
“The first day of school is hard,” said JCHS coach Butch Gray, whose team had its first day of classes Thursday. “I have never, on the first day of school, ever had a team practice well or play well.
“The thing I like seeing is they’re not satisfied with what they’re shooting. … They think they ought to play better, and that’s what we need to strive for now.”
While penalty strokes plagued some of her teammates, No. 5 player Katlin Petro came through with her best nine-hole score of the year.
The sophomore got off to a hot start as she began her round on the 18th hole. She recorded a par on the 120-yard, par-3 18th at Portland Golf Club, and then added a second consecutive par on the 289-yard, par-4 10th.
A bogey on No. 11 left her at 1-over-par through three holes, and she added another bogey on the 15th hole en route to a 53.
“Katlin is a girl that she doesn’t know how good she can be,” said Gray. “She hasn’t played this game much, and she is hitting some iron shots long. … She was close to being in the creek on 10 with her 7-iron.
“She has a great golfer’s mentality. She has no short-term memory. If she hits a bad one, she just goes on and hits the next shot. (Some golfers) agonize over it and let it effect the next shot.”
With Petro turning in the No. 2 score for the Patriots, junior Alysia Fennig earned medalist honors. She posted three bogeys in her round on the way to a 52.
Keely Townsend had the low score for Southside with a 54.
Brittany Stevens also had three bogeys for JCHS (2-1) in a round of 56, and Whitney Gray added three as she completed the team score with a 61.
Following Townsend for the Rebels were Kayla McDonald (57), Kacey Johnson (61) and Taryn Stump (68).
In junior varsity action, Madison McCormick shot 52 for the Patriots and Maddison Baughn added a 57. Southside did not have a JV team.[[In-content Ad]]