It was a record setting performance by the St. Cloud Lady Bulldogs golf team Tuesday, as they finished second in the Class 3A, District 6 tournament and will now move on to next Tuesday’s Class 3A, Region 2 championship – just one step away from a return to the state finals.
Like districts, the Region 2 tourney will be held at Royal St. Cloud Golf Club.
Led by career low rounds from Tess Shieve (74) and Jenna Barnett (75), the Lady Bulldogs posted a four-golfer team total of 307 to place second behind perennial state power Lake Nona (295). Freshman Karolyna Adams (78) and Cayden Challacombe (80) contributed to the 307, believed to be the lowest team 18-hole score ever shot by an Osceola County high school girls’ team in tournament competition. Lake Nona posted four scores in the 70s to win the title.
“I am absolutely elated with our team’s performance today,” Bulldog coach Jim Endicott said. “We had two players shoot personal bests, set a county record and came within one shot of posting four scores in the 70s. If we get the same performance next week, I feel really good about this team returning to the state tournament.”
Last year, behind then-senior Morgan Beaulieu, St. Cloud became just the second girls’ team in county history to earn a spot in the state championship tournament (Harmony 2016) when they finished fourth with a score of 329 in their region but snagged one of four at-large spots in the tournament. Paced by Beaulieu’s fifth place finish, the Lady Bulldogs eventually finished 12th last season.
The top three teams in each of the four regions earn a trip to states, with four at-large bids awarded on a state-wide basis based on stroke scoring average, course slope rating and Iwanamaker rating (IWR) from the both the district and regional tournaments. This is to allow deserving teams competing in tougher regionals to earn a spot in the state championship.
St. Cloud will not be the only girls’ team advancing to regionals, as Harmony – behind a career low 76 by Jordan Pidgeon -- posted a team score of 356 to edge out Winter Park (358) by two strokes to secure the final automatic qualifying spot.
Playing in Class 3A, District 7 at Eaglebrook Golf Club in Lakeland, the Celebration Storm are also moving on to next Tuesday’s girls regional as they won their district tournament with a team score of 389. Arianna Leon (80), Natalie Quionnes (82), Erin Ozyurek (97) and Julia Barbara (120) posted counting scores for the Lady Storm.
On the boys’ side on Monday, the competition was intense in District 6 with Lake Nona winning the event with a solid 301. Winter Park was second at 303 with St. Cloud coming in third at 304.
Although they earned the final qualifying spot, St. Cloud was never challenged for that position as they beat the number four team Boone by 28 shots. Gunnar Green led the way with a two-under 70; while Espn Pool (77), Alexander Owen (78) and Ethan Parrish (79) rounded out the scoring players for the Bulldogs. The 303 was one shot higher than the Bulldogs shot at last week’s Orange Belt Conference Championship and was somewhat disconcerting to Coach Jim Endicott.
“Gunnar was outstanding but I don’t think we shot anywhere near our potential today. Ethan has been averaging around par all season and unfortunately he was a little off today. Alex was sailing along at three over and then takes a triple on the par 3, 17th. The main thing is we were able to advance and move on but we will definitely need to be better to advance to the state tournament.”
Osceola County will feature one more team at next week’s regionals as Celebration posted a 317 to capture second place in the 3A, District 7 tournament. The Storm finished behind district champion Winter Haven (297). Will Cooper shot a 71 to lead a trio of juniors for the Storm. He was joined by Ethan Badillo (75) and George Aguilera (84); while senior Jack Crawford (87) posted the final counting score for the Storm.
Recapping, the top three teams from Districts 5-8 will be at Royal St. Cloud next week for the Region 2 Championships. The boys’ tournament on Monday will feature St. Cloud and Celebration, while the girls’ vent will feature St. Cloud, Celebration, and Harmony. It is believed that this is the first time in county history five different teams have advanced to regional play.
In addition, Gateway’s Will Giger qualified as an individual by shooting 76 in Class 2A, District 7 Championship at Schalamar Creek in Lakleand. Giger will now compete in the Class 2A, Regional 2 Tournament next week at Dubsdread Golf Course in Orlando.
