Girls golf: Lemke, Wisted lead St. Francis to lopsided victory
In golf everybody gets a fair shot.
St. Francis' Katherine Lemke and Madison Wisted were obvious advocates after the Spartans captured their first girls conference championship in school history with a 55-shot victory over Aurora Central Catholic on Thursday afternoon at Blackberry Oaks in Bristol.
"The boys won (the Metro Suburban Blue on Monday), and we felt like we needed to win, too, to show the boys that we're good, too," said Lemke, the central culprit in the Spartans' 373 team score with a medalist 79.
"I was coming back from an injury," said Wisted, who was third for St. Francis with a 93. "I wanted to play tennis but wasn't physically able. (Golf) is a game you can play for the rest of your life."
Lemke and Wheaton Academy senior Margaret Harmon entered the Metro Suburban championship with the most accomplished resumes.
As returning state qualifiers in the small- and large-class divisions, respectively, the two were paired together in the lead group of the shotgun start.
Harmon drew first blood.
"I got off to a quick start," said Harmon, who birdied the short par-4 first hole.
But Lemke gradually gained the upper hand with consistency, and Harmon had to be content with a major consolation prize - player of the year - after falling short with her runner-up 82.
"Katherine, her short game was really on today," Harmon said. "My chipping and putting were not there today. I did what I could, came out and gave it my all."
Lemke adopted a steady philosophical approach.
"I was a little more conservative (off the tee)," Lemke said. "I didn't hit my driver as often. I just hit the ball in the fairway and got it around the green. I kept it simple. I didn't try to do anything too special."
Like Harmon, Lemke resides in Geneva; the latter was MVP runner-up due to playing fewer conference duals.
Elizabeth Grivetti and Cameron Marr rounded out St. Francis' collective scorecard with top-10 finishes as the Spartans had three of the five players to break triple digits.
Grivetti - whose freshman sister, Sarah, also earned all-conference honors with her eighth-place result - finished in a fourth-place tie with her 99.
Wheaton Academy was third, followed by Riverside-Brookfield, Rosary and St. Edward.
St. Francis completed its flawless league run with the one-sided tournament title, but Aurora Central solidified its overall second-place status behind top-10 performers Michelle Beggs, Carson Vest and Jennifer Jasin.
"The course played incredibly tough today," ACC coach Mark Schwartz said. "I joked to (my players) that I have never broken 80 here before."
Sarah Borish and Lily Burger were the respective leaders for Rosary and St. Edward.