GREENFIELD — Their time has come.
After watching rivals raise the Hancock County Girls Golf Championship trophy the last three years, Mt. Vernon’s seniors — runners-up each of the last three years — got their opportunity Tuesday at Hawk’s Tail of Greenfield.
“I think this is the biggest deal ever,” Mt. Vernon senior Meredith Johnson said of winning the county’s team title. “We are so thrilled.”
It was doubly sweet for senior Alaina Nugent, the individual medalist champion, who had twice been a second-place finisher.
“I told myself (coming in today) to relax and play my game,” Nugent said. “Honestly, I knew no one out here could beat me today. I don’t want that to sound terrible, but I just had full confidence in myself that I was the best player out here. I needed to play like that and live up to my goals and expectations.”
Nugent shot a 1-over-par 37, three strokes better than senior teammate Johnson, who finished with a 40. Johnson was runner-up after placing third that last two years.
“I started off a little bit rocky, but I followed that with six straight pars. That was extremely exciting,” Johnson said.
Mt. Vernon shot 170 as a team, 20 strokes better than two-time defending champion Greenfield-Central, which finished with a 190. New Palestine was third at 212 and Eastern Hancock carded a 249.
“The three seniors have been together that whole time,” Mt. Vernon coach Mike Miner said. “They’ve been waiting, ‘When’s our time?’ They were expecting to play well today.
“They’ve been close. Last year, they were pretty close. They knew if they kept working hard they’d have a shot this year.”
With rain early in the day as well as when players arrived prior to the 4:30 p.m. tee time, there was some question whether the nine-hole tournament would be played as scheduled.
Mt. Vernon’s girls decided it wasn’t raining too hard, as they elected to get some practice on the putting greens during the wet weather.
“We were the only team out here practicing when it was still raining,” Johnson said. “(Alaina) went out to practice and we all followed her.”
“That was great. That was exactly what we needed, teamwork together and all of us on the same page getting ready for the night,” Nugent added.
All five Mt. Vernon players were in the top eight. They had the top-three spots, including French foreign exchange student Sophie Amengnigan, who was playing in the team’s fourth spot. She finished with a 43.
“God kind of laid her in our lap,” coach Miner said. “She came from France and she’s been a great addition to the team. She has a great attitude, and it’s been a joy to have her as part of the team.”
Senior Mackenzie Miner and Izzy VanHeel tied for eighth with 50s.
Greenfield-Central had positions three through six with Sydney Wherry (44), Katie Curry (45) and Brynn Elliott (46).
The top-five finishers all received all-county medals.
New Palestine was led by Zoe Nelson’s 48, which was seventh overall. Eastern Hancock’s low golfer was Shelby Jackson with a 54, placing 11th. New Pal’s Lauren Appleby also had a Top-10 finish, shooting a 51.
As a freshman, Nugent shot a 39 to tie New Palestine’s Annaliese Fox, but Fox earned the first-place medal in a playoff.
Fox won in a playoff in 2019 over Greenfield-Central’s Tandess O’Neal — both shot 39s — while Nugent, Johnson and Greenfield-Central’s Caroline Gibson tied for third with 41s.
Last year, Gibson won the individual title with a 37. Nugent was runner-up with a 38, while Johnson placed third.
“My freshman year was kind of scary for me,” Nugent said. “I’ve never done anything like that before. Finally to come out and get No. 1 has been my goal all four years since that freshman year.”
“I’m very happy for her,” coach Miner said of Nugent winning the individual title. “She’s been working her tail off. She deserves it and I’m proud of her.”
Mt. Vernon finished second to Greenfield-Central each of the last two years and was runner-up to New Palestine in 2018.
