Two Patriots advance

By RAY COONEY
The Commercial Review
BLUFFTON — Every athlete’s objective, no matter what the sport, is to perform their best on the biggest stage. Abby Denney and Cara Garringer fulfilled that goal Saturday.
The pair of Jay County High School seniors turned in career-best scores to earn regional berths at the girls golf sectional tournament hosted by Norwell at Timber Ridge Golf Course.
Denney’s 81 is the best sectional score by a Patriot in at least a decade, and Garringer added an 89 to help lead the team to its best effort at the sectional since a runner-up finish in 2000.
“It’s kind of shocking,” said Denney, who finished third overall, just two strokes short of the individual sectional title. “Eighty-one is my lowest score, ever, and to shoot it at sectional is kind of something big.
“It’s exciting.”
Denney and Garringer led Jay County to a team score of 386, which was good for fourth place. The top three teams — Homestead (348), Norwell (359) and Canterbury (360) — as well as the top three individuals not on qualifying teams earned regional berths.
Amanda Vankoski (94) of Bishop Luers joined the pair of Patriots as the third individual qualifier.
The regional will be Saturday at Cobblestone Golf Course at 10 a.m.
“(Assistant coach Carissa Goldsworthy) gave me a pep talk about how cool it would be to make it out my senior year, working four years and finally getting something out of it,” said Garringer. “During the day it didn’t really phase me what she said, but now that I’ve gotten out, she’s right. It’s pretty cool.
“This was my last chance, and I did my best.”
South Adams finished ninth out of 11 teams with a 454. Abbie Fisher led the team with a 105, followed by Kristen Lehman (110), Sam Schwartz (119) and Adrienne Pursley (120).
Starting on the back nine at Timber Ridge, Denney got off to an impressive start with a par on the 10th hole. She added a birdie on No. 11, a 115-yard, par-3 over water that often gives players a lot of trouble.
The senior added two more pars and five bogeys on the back nine to make the turn with a 40.
“I thought she had very good tempo,” said JCHS coach Butch Gray. “She didn’t let some of the slow play early bother her. Her and Car both showed good mental composure.”
After a double-bogey on No. 2, she nailed a 5-foot putt to par the 274-yard, par-4 third hole. She added a birdie on the par-5 fifth and then turned in three pars in the final four holes to finish with an 81.
The last player to shoot in the 80s for Jay County at the sectional meet was Erin Smith with an 85 in 1999.
“On the front I thought I played really well,” said Denney. “But then on the back I was kind of nervous.
“Every time that I made a bad shot, I was just like, ‘All right, you’ve got to recover from it.’ … I feel like I put everything aside. I wasn’t thinking about it or pressuring myself. I just relaxed and had fun.”
Garringer had a couple of strong runs during her round, racking up three birdies on a stretch of four holes on the back nine en route to a 44. And then after playing the first four holes of the front at 6-over-par, she converted three straight birdies en route to her career-best 89.
Denney and Garringer advancing to the regional ended a three-year drought for the Patriots. Trisha Champ was their last regional qualifier with a 90 in 2006.
“I always have trouble with my chipping and it actually kind of came through for me today when everything else kind of went away,” said Garringer. “It definitely saved me.”
“Something she’s done all year is take her time,” added Gray. “And if she feels herself getting out of rhythm, she would take some extra time. She didn’t change her demeanor from beginning to end.”
Macey Gerber, Jay County’s third senior, turned in the No. 3 score for the team with a 102. She had her lone par of the day on No. 15.
Brittany Stevens bounced back from a difficult back nine to shoot 52 with two pars on the front as she completed the Patriots’ score with a 114.
Whitney Gray shot 126.
“My other girls, some of them didn’t get started too well, but then came back,” said Gray. “I’ve very proud of Brittany because she came back on the front side and put together a respectable round.”
The three seniors have been part of one of the best four-year stretches of girls golf in Jay County history.
Garringer was a four-year varsity player who helped set the school winning percentage record with an 11-1 mark in 2007. She and Denney were both on the varsity squad that matched that record in 2008, and this season the trio of seniors led the team to a 12-3 mark to tie the school record for wins in a single season.
The Patriots have had a 42-10 record over the course of the last four seasons.
“You pencil those three in and you’ve got a good idea of what they’re going to shoot,” said Gray. “Then the other girls don’t feel pressure because they know those three girls are going to post solid scores.
“All of them have been very special for the program.”[[In-content Ad]]