NEW PALESTINE — There’s good reason New Palestine is anticipating another strong season on the golf course.
With just one varsity starter lost to graduation, the Dragons girls golf team has most of the lineup back from a team that won Hancock County and New Palestine Sectional tournament championships.
At the regional, they finished just four strokes out of third place, the final qualifying spot for the IHSAA Girls Golf State Finals.
“I definitely have a really good group this year,” New Palestine coach Sarah O’Brien said. “I’ve got three seniors that all have a lot of varsity experience. We’re going to look to them for that leadership and steadiness. It’s going to be exciting, but it’s going to be tough.”
Lauren Appleby, Hanna Beller and Kate Stanfield are the three seniors. All spent most of the season in the varsity lineup.
Appleby shot a team-low 88 at last year’s regional. The team shot 369, just four strokes behind Delta. Appleby finished fourth at the sectional and earned honorable mention all-conference at the Hoosier Heritage Conference meet by finishing ninth at the tournament held at Albany Golf Course.
Stanfield earned all-county status by carding a 48 and finishing fourth at the nine-hole tournament held at Hawk’s Tail of Greenfield Golf Course.
Beller was in the lineup during the postseason run, too.
O’Brien’s biggest problem this season may be filling out a lineup card. Similar to 2022, the Dragons have some quality golfers beyond the five-player varsity lineup.
Along with the three seniors, junior Lily Kirchner and sophomore Katie Kelley are coming off good seasons.
Kirchner just missed all-county recognition by placing sixth and was selected honorable mention all-conference by scoring a 94 and finishing 12th.
Kelley contributed right away in her first year of high school. She earned both all-county and all-conference nods by finishing fourth and seventh, respectively. Her 89 at the HHC meet was lowest among Dragon golfers.
Junior Janie Hamilton, sophomore Matti Tiede-White and frosh Lauren Deering could all push for varsity rounds, too.
The Dragons open play Saturday in the Greensburg Invitational.
“I’ve got to put a team on the course Saturday at Greensburg and I’m not sure who it is going to be yet,” O’Brien said. “It’s a great problem to have. I’ve got six, seven players, maybe eight that can be in that lineup. I’ve got until Saturday to figure it out. It’s exciting.”
The return of so many strong players helps ease the blow of losing No. 1 player Zoe Nelson to graduation. Nelson was runner-up in last year’s county and sectional tournament to Greenfield-Central’s Sydnie Wherry.
“She was such a strong leader and we are going to miss that,” O’Brien said of Nelson.
The Dragons potential has not gone unnoticed by others in the high school girls golf community.
New Palestine was one of 10 schools listed as honorable mention in the preseason Top 20 poll from the Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association.
Even though the team has a great amount of experience returning from a strong 2022 season, they have some youth, too.
In addition to Deering, the Dragons have five other freshmen on a 14-player roster.
“It’s a different situation. I feel any of my top six, seven or eight, could lead the way any one night, at least at this point,” O’Brien said. “I don’t see someone standing out yet, but they all have the potential to. We’re pretty balanced, so it’s tough to nail it down to just five (varsity players). We’re going to work with it and keep them challenged all season.”
The first home meet is scheduled for Aug. 7 against Greenwood at The Links Golf Club in New Palestine.
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2023 New Palestine Girls Golf Schedule
Date;Opponent;Time
Aug. 5;at Greensburg Invitational;9 a.m.
Aug. 7;vs. Greenwood;4 p.m.
Aug. 12;at Lapel Invitational;9 a.m.
Aug. 17;vs. Law. Cent./Southport;4 p.m.
Aug. 19;at Connersville Invitational;12 p.m.
Aug. 21;at Greenfield-Central/Frank. Cent.;5 p.m.
Aug. 23;at Southwestern;4:30 p.m.
Aug. 24;vs. Fishers;4 p.m.
Aug. 26;New Palestine Invitational;1 p.m.
Aug. 29;Hancock County Tournament (Hawk’s Tail);4:30 p.m.
Aug. 31;vs. Cathedral;4:30 p.m.
Sept. 2;at Connersville Invitational;12 p.m.
Sept. 5;at Morristown;4:30 p.m.
Sept. 6;at Richmond;5 p.m.
Sept. 7;at Shelbyville;5 p.m.
Sept. 9;HHC Meet at Albany;1 p.m.
Sept. 11;vs. Pendleton Heights;4 p.m.
Sept. 12;at Mt. Vernon;4:30 p.m.
