Believe it or not, the high school golf postseason is just a week away in Ohio and soon after in Northern Kentucky. Before today's players compete in state tournaments, take a look back at previous team golf state champions in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky
The Enquirer looked back at each of the boys
and girls individual golf state champions in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. Now, here are the team champions, starting with the girls' winners.Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky girls golf team state champions
Notre Dame Academy (1979, 1980, 1982 and 1983)
The first Kentucky High School Athletic Association girls golf state championship was played in 1965, 28 years before Ohio added a girls golf tournament. In 1979, Northern Kentucky got its first title as the Notre Dame Pandas started a run of four championships in five seasons.
The Pandas struck first in 1979,
shooting 706 to beat runner-up Tates Creek by 41 shots. The next year, Notre Dame swept the championships, repeating as team winners with a 709 score, while Bonnie Overmann shot a 159 to win the individual title.
In 1981, the Pandas finished in sixth place overall with an 800, 52 shots off of winner Elizabethtown. Emily Dorning was the individual runner-up with a 171, five strokes behind Murray's Velvet Jones.
Notre Dame got back on top in 1982, shooting a 725 to overtake Elizabethtown by seven shots. The Pandas and Northern Kentucky ended their run in 1983, winning with a 753 over Lafayette's 764. Dorning tied with individual champion Jill Mattingly of Lafayette, but fell in a five-hole playoff.
St. Ursula (1994 and 1997)
St. Ursula won the Ohio High School Athletic Association's second-annual girls golf tournament and three years later, in 1997, St. Ursula won again.
The 1994 squad shot a 721, beating Youngstown Boardman by 10 strokes for the title. Christi Dorece led the Bulldogs with a 165. The fourth and fifth scores for St. Ursula that season came from Sara Rabe and Katie Rakel, who would be the top finishers for the team in 1997.
Rabe and Rakel both shot a 162, both following up an 80 in the first round with an 82 in the final round to tie for 10th overall. As a team, St. Ursula shot a 671 to again beat runner-up Boardman by five strokes.
Ursuline Academy (1999)
Another Girls Greater Catholic League team managed a state championship as Ursuline Academy took first in 1999. The Lions, led by a 162 from Carrie Farnham and and a 171 from Erin McAfee, shot a 692 total, edging out runner-up Toledo St. Ursula by three shots. Farnham tied for eighth overall on the individual leaderboard.
Mount Notre Dame (2002 and 2003)
Mount Notre Dame brought more GGCL representation to the state champs' list with the Cougars going back-to-back in 2002 and 2003.
Led by a 162 from senior Holly Jones, Mount Notre Dame took the 2002 championship with team total of 674, beating runner-up Dublin Coffman by seven shots. On the individual board, Jones finished tied for sixth with two other golfers, including Princeton's Shaela Wolf.
Also on the coaching staff for eight Mount Notre Dame basketball titles, coach Grayson FitzHugh's squad repeated in 2003, shooting 658. Ursuline Academy finished in second place by 23 shots. Sophomore Colleen Cully shot a 161 to take 10th individually, a shot ahead of junior teammate Laurin Bruce.
Lakota West (2006)
For the first time in 2006, it was a local public school winning the girls golf state championship. The Lakota West Firebirds dominated the course for their championship 20 years ago, shooting a combined 635 to win with a comfortable 38-stroke margin over second-place Copley. Their 318 in round one and 317 in round two were the two lowest rounds of the tournament.
Junior Rachel Nelson paced the Firebirds with a 78, taking third behind winner Allie White of Lancaster, who shot a 73, and Ursuline Academy's Kelsey Lindenschmidt, who shot a 74.
Mason (2008, 2009 and 2010)
In 2008, the OHSAA introduced a second division to the girls state tournament, splitting the tournament int Division I and Division II. In those first three years, the Division I tournament belonged to the Mason Comets.
The 2008 Comets opened the tournament with a 307 on the first day, entering the final round with a 12-shot cushion. That lead grew to 26 strokes with Mason finishing with a 630 and Walsh Jesuit following with a 656. The Comets had three sophomores and two seniors on that squad with Erin Michel, one of the sophomores, pacing the team with a 153.
Rain shortened the 2009 tournament to just one round. The Comets shot a 316, bettering runner-up Lakota West by nine shots and third-place St. Ursula by 10 shots. The Comet trio of now juniors was led by Emily Wright's 76 (tied for fourth) and Michel and Jessica Zhang's 78s to tie for 10th.
Finally in 2010, the Comets managed to sweep the Division I tournament, winning the team and individual championships. The Comets again had big leads, shooting a 308 on day one and 303 on day two for a 611 total, 24 shots better than Massillon Jackson. On the individual race, Wright took first by shooting a 142, five shots better than the next finisher. Michel tied for fifth with a 153.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky's all-time girls golf team state champs
