Lady Purples finish fourth at state tournament

The Bowling Green girls’ golf team earned a fourth place finish in the KHSAA state tournament, wrapping up play with a team score of 335 on Saturday at Bowling Green Country Club.

Bowling Green finished the event with a two-day score of 93-over par, six shots behind Madison Central for third place.

“I think without a doubt that was the most successful girls’ golf season in the history of Bowling Green High School,” BG coach Adam Whitt said. “We have a school that is the second oldest high school in the state of Kentucky, so when you do that you’ve accomplished a whole, whole lot. I’m super proud of their effort today and super proud of their effort the entire season. It’s a great group of kids and they are easy to cheer for. They are wonderful to be around.”

Despite rain and windy conditions, BG was able to improve its score by three shots from Friday’s first day – tying for the third best team score on Saturday.

Mary Douglas Childers set the tone with a 6-over 78 and finished with a two-day score of 158 to tie for 18th. Ellie Morgan finished with a two-day score of 167, with Saanvi Aravantagi carding a 169 and Anna Morris rounding out the team scoring with a 176 after a four-shot improvement from Friday.

Rheagan Gathright finished her tournament with a 179.

“I thought our mindset and mentality was a whole lot better today than it was (Friday),” Whitt said. “I could tell that literally from the second we stepped on the golf course today. The golf course set up today, in my opinion, much more difficult. For our score to be better today, despite all of those things going against us, is a big feather in the girls’ caps for how well they came out and handled things.”

All five players return next season, with a couple of middle schoolers coming up and expected to add an immediate impact according to Whitt.

“For those five girls to get the experience they did this week, again kind of like the boys, the experience is only good as the work you put in behind it,” Whitt said. “Hopefully the kids come in and put together some work going forward and are able to put themselves in the same situation next year. The future for both (teams) right now is extremely bright and I hope we are able to capitalize on the opportunity in front of us.”

Lexington Christian finished 29-over to win the team title, 11 shots better than runner-up Sacred Heart.

Sacred Heart’s Keira Yun won her second straight individual title, finishing with a 5-under 139. Willa Borough from Frederick Douglass finished second with a 1-under 143, while Lexington Catholic’s Parker Haddix and Lexington Christian’s Grace Soale tied for third with a 1-over 145.

Barren County’s Chloe Witcher finished tied for 15th with a 13-over 157, while Cumberland County’s Kenzie Willen tied for 18th with a 158.