Indians earn first girls golf MAC title by one stroke

CELINA, Ohio — The Indians made school history on Sept. 12 by beating St. Henry to secure a perfect Midwest Athletic Conference schedule to set themselves up for a title.

They knew they wanted to claim it all for themselves, and one stroke made the difference.

The Fort Recovery High School girls golf team shot a 418 to beat Minster and St. Henry by just one stroke on Saturday to claim the MAC tournament title at Stillwater Valley Golf Club to claim the outright MAC title.

“It was probably one of the most stressful days I’ve had coaching, because it was so close,” said FRHS coach Jeff Vaughn. “So it was exciting. Once the girls heard their name called at the end it was pretty cool because they were shocked. … To go undefeated is unbelievable. I know that doesn’t happen very often and we feel very blessed to be able to do that. Like I said, hats off to those girls because they came through.”

The Indians needed to take the top spot in the tournament to claim the school’s first MAC title in girls golf outright.

The title comes a little over one year after former Fort Recovery girls golf coach Joe Bruns’ death. During the 2024 season, the Indians uniforms had the letters JB stitched into the collars of their uniforms as they dedicated the season to him. The tournament victory left Vaughn, the long-time assistant to Bruns and friends since childhood, emotional.

“It’s always been in the back of our minds throughout the year,” Vaughn said. “Last year, we lost him at the beginning of the year, so it was kind of a tough transition. We wanted to win that for him.

“He did a heck of a job building the program and always wanted to be MAC champs. For us to go undefeated in the league and finish the way we did was pretty special. It’s pretty emotional. I won't lie, I had many tears in my eyes and it was a great way to finish the season and to win it for him.”

The Indians were led by junior Olivia Knapke, who shot a career low score of 98 to finish fourth among all golfers. Versailles’ Ella Porter earned the Individual MAC tournament title by shooting an 82, 11 strokes better than the runner-up.

Knapke’s round consisted of three pars and 11 bogeys. She played particularly well on the front nine, as only the seventh gave her trouble en route to a 46.

Joining Knapke in the top-10 was Mallory Evers. The junior put up a score of 105 to be a part of a three-way tie for eighth place.

Out of the No. 5 position, Georgia Wenning shot a 107 to add the third score, and Emma Will rounded out the final with a 108.

Scores of 126 and 153 from Evvie Briner and Eva Kahlig didn’t affect the team’s final.

Between the regular season and the conference tournament, Knapke and Evers both made the First Team All-MAC, while Will and Wenning were both on the second team. Vaughn was also recognized as the MAC Coach of the Year.

Fort Recovery will return to Stillwater Valley Golf Course Wednesday for the sectional meet. Vaughn said he’s hoping that without the pressure of an undefeated season and a conference title on the line that the girls will be able to play more relaxed.

“I personally feel like we can post a lot better score Wednesday than what we did (Saturday) just because yesterday that’s pressure. … Our mindset was we wanted to win this thing outright and we didn’t want to share it, but I feel like we’re going to play more relaxed on Wednesday.”