JC jumps up at Marion

MARION - In four days, the Patriots looked like a completely different team.

Abby Denney and Brittany Stevens turned in the best scores of their careers, and Cara Garringer returned to action Monday as the Jay County High School girls golf team improved its score by nearly 100 strokes over Thursday's Muncie Central Invitational.

After shooting 494 to place last at The Players Club, the Patriots responded with a 398 Monday at Marion Elks Golf Club to finish in a tie for fourth with Huntington North at the 12-team Marion Invitational.

Yorktown won the event at 33, with the host Giants (376) second and Mississinewa (378) third. Yorktown's Kennedy Windlan was the medalist with a 73, and Denney's 86 was good for sixth place.

On the front nine Denney shot a solid 47, and then caught fire on the back. She opened with consecutive pars on the 449-yard, par-5 10th hole and the 285-yard, par-4 11th.

The junior took a double bogey on the par-3 13th hole, but played the rest of her round at even par. She had birdies on the 292-yard, par-4 14th and 238-yard, par-4 18th holes, and parred the 16th as she shot a 3-over-par 39 on the back nine.

Denney's best nine-hole round last season was a 45 on the front nine at Timber Ridge Golf Club in the sectional tournament. Her average for nine holes thus far this season was 49.4.

The Patriots played the 18th hole especially well, with Garringer and Macey Gerber also recording birdies. Garringer, playing her first round of the season, also had three pars on the way to a score of 100.

Gerber played even on the 425-yard, par-5 seventh hole and finished at 103. Stevens carded her lone par on the 255-yard, par-4 16th hole and shot 109 to round out the Jay County team score.

The previous best nine-hole round for Stevens was a 55 last season, which she beat with a 53 on the front nine Monday. Her previous two 18-hole scores this year were 123 and 119.

Whitney Gray added a score of 116, matching Gerber's par on the seventh hole.[[In-content Ad]]