Heavy rough and gusty winds greeted all the participants at Foxfire Golf Course Tuesday when the 2011 edition of the Section III girls golf championships got underway.
Yet no adverse condition could keep Fayetteville-Manlius and Jamesville-DeWitt from snagging team honors and, with Christian Brothers Academy, qualifying six golfers for the June 11-12 New York State Public High School Athletic Association tournament at SUNY-Delhi.
Among eight Division I teams, the Hornets, with a 355, held off CBA (363) by eight shots, with Auburn (369) close behind in third place. Meanwhile, in Division II J-D had no trouble ascending to the top with a 379 as Westhill (419) settled into second place.
Meghan Kingsley led the Hornets’ individual charge, fighting through the conditions to shoot an 86 and finish alone in fourth place. Just ahead of her, CBA’s Mary Fletcher was third as Baldwinsville senior Lauren Petty, with a 76, took the individual title after runner-up finishes in both 2009 and 2010. Auburn’s Larissa Carter was second, two shots behind Petty.
Alex Seabury, F-M’s top player most of the season, had her share of struggles, but still posted an 87, the same number as Carly Kidd. That pair, along with Maria Mintskovsky (90), joined Kingsley as state tournament qualifiers, as did J-D’s Victoria Roney, who was alone in seventh place with an 88.
In terms of the team scores, four players were designated before the event to take part. In F-M’s case, that meant Seabury, Kingsley, Mintskovsky and Lela Feldmeier, who posted a 92. CBA’s Elisabeth Webber, by shooting 90, earned first alternate status for the state tournament.
Each of the nine state finalists received new golf bags to take to Delhi from event sponsor Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes, and all the players in the tournament got charm bracelets, courtesy of Cazenovia Jewelry.
Petty, with her individual title, also earned the exempt spot in the LPGA Futures Tour’s Alliance Bank Classic on July 29-31 at Drumlins East, and Amelia Lewis, an LPGA rookie who was second at last year’s Futures event, was on hand to present the awards.
