Harkins, CL Central co-op run away with FVC
Lexi Harkins and the Crystal Lake Central co-op team rewrote the record book at the Fox Valley Conference girls golf meet at Crystal Woods Golf Club Wednesday.
Harkins, a 14-year-old freshman, set a new FVC meet record by carding a 2-over-par 75 from the red tees to run away with the event by 9 strokes over teammate Michelle Schoch, who attends Cary-Grove.
"I'm happy with the round," said Harkins, who stuck a 5-iron within inches of the flag on the 166-yard, par-3 16th. "But I'm really happy with the season because my team did really well and we won everything."
Not only did four golfers from the CL Central co-op finish in the top six spots overall, two others placed eighth and ninth overall to earn all-conference honors among the FVC's top 13.
"It's been a really amazing senior year," said Schoch, who finished fifth in the FVC meet a year ago. "We have Lexi, who is amazing, and then everyone else is solid. If someone has a bad day, another person can come and step it up. We were pretty confident. We've been playing well all year, so it's pretty fun."
CL Central's 339 set a new FVC team record as the Tigers bested second-place Prairie Ridge by 30 strokes to win the title. CL Central went undefeated in dual meets this season.
Jacobs finished third (425) followed by McHenry (432), Huntley (451), Dundee-Crown (460) and Johnsburg (501).
Close behind Harkins and Schoch for the co-op were Cary-Grove's Amalia Emma (88, fourth) and Ashley Booth (92, sixth), Central's Ann Bandolik (94, eighth) and Crystal Lake South's Amanda Willis (96, ninth).
Prairie Ridge placed four golfers on the all-conference team: Danielle Roulo (86, third), Delainey Peterson (89, fifth), Robin Manarik (93, seventh) and Michelle Nalepa (101, 12th).
Roulo saved par at No. 16 by chipping in from the fringe with a sand wedge. "That was my good save of the day," she said. "I had an OK day today. I just wanted to come in in the top five. We came in second as a team, but a lot of girls struggled. None of us had our best day."
Jacobs placed two golfers on the all-conference team. Morgan Harvey shot 97 to take 10th overall and Kelsey Woloszyk's 99 was good for 11th place.
McHenry's Kaylee Ross (102) rounded out the all-conference honorees.
Samantha Wightman was the low golfer for Huntley (105), while Lauren Wendt led Dundee-Crown's contingent with a score of 108. Wendt's best shot of the day, she said, came courtesy of her driver on No. 8, a 421-yard par 5. She hit her tee shot 230 yards.
"I've shot as low as 104, but this was right down there," the 15-year old from Carpentersville said. "It was a really good way to finish up conference."