MONTGOMERY

In their final match of the season, Seymour’s girls golf team went out with a season-best.

The Owls combined for 346 strokes — 24 strokes better than their previous season-low — to place 6th of 18 teams at the Washington Regional Saturday hosted by Country Oaks Golf Course.

Seymour’s cross-county foe Brownstown Central finished 11th in the field, scoring 379.

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The top-three team scores advanced to next week’s state championship, which will be at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.

Top five low individuals, excluding those individuals who advanced with a team, also moved on to state.

Evansville North won their fourth straight regional with 310 strokes, Bedford North Lawrence were runners-up with 332 and Evansville Memorial placed third at 335.

North’s Hadley Watts shot a two-over-par 74 for medalist honors.

The highest score of individuals advancing was 78.

With all four players under 50, including three golfers scoring 41s through nine holes, the Owls knew they were in for a strong finish in 2017.

Laken Waskom shot a personal best 83 to lead the Owls.

Madeline Wisler was next for Seymour with an 86, Andrea Axsom totaled 88, Bridget Marshall shot 89 and Bailey Goben had 95 for the Owls.

“They did awesome….with everything,” Owls coach Lakin Covey said. “It was the best I’ve seen the girls play. I joked with them, ‘what got into you guys?’ They said they were relaxed and just having fun. It was good to seem them end the season like that.”

Goben and Axsom graduate from the Owls’ varsity lineup.

“They have meant a lot,” Covey said of the seniors. “I coached them when I was here in 2014, and it was good to see them finish their year with two of their lower scores they’ve had this season.”

Covey said that the returning girls should feel good about the way they ended the season, and confident moving forward.

“I think it will give them a boost going into next year,” she said. “They can have confidence knowing that they played so well at the next level.”

Brownstown Central’s lowest score was by Emma Zabor, who carded an 87. Zabor carded a career-low 39 on the front nine.

Shelby Stuckwisch was next for the Braves with 89 and Regan Campbell shot 98.

KaCee Collins (105) and Ashlyn Fox (106) completed the braves’ scorecard.

“All-in-all, I’m not disappointed by any means,” Braves coach Brandon Allman said. “Shelby Stuckwisch’s goal all year was to break 90, and she shot a career best today. Ashlyn Fox also shot a career best at 106. I’m proud of my girls.”

All day, the players from across the region battled the heat, which affected the course.

“The ground was really hard,” Allman said. “There was a lot of extra water on the greens to keep them soft, so it was really slow. It was 91 degrees, it was a tough day for everyone.”

Zabor, Stuckwisch and Campbell are all seniors. The three consistently finished in the top-three for the Braves all year.

“For me, it’s tough to think about,” Allman said of the seniors. “I’m losing the top three girls. They’ve been with me for all three years I’ve coached the girls. It will be hard to replace them. We have a lot of rebuilding to do.”