Parkway West girls win district golf tournament

It’s been a long time but the Parkway West Longhorns girls have won a district golf championship, snapping a long draught.

The Longhorns won the Class 2 District 3 tournament at Links of Dardenne with a team score of 351, to finish two strokes ahead of Lafayette’s 353.

After checking the record books, Parkway West coach Nancy Sachtleben discovered the last time the Longhorns won districts as a team and appears to be when the squad won state in 1980.

“This is what we have been able to look up; perhaps there was another year in the 80′s but we don’t show it,” Sachtleben said. “So, this is a huge deal for us.”

Going into the postseason, Sachtleben said the squad was confident about its chances.

“We hoped to win districts,” Sachtleben said. “We thought it would come down to us and Lafayette. We lost to them three times this season already, our closest match by only three strokes.

“This district has some of the finest golfers in the entire state in it. The first group that went out together could very well be playing with each other at state, too.”

The Links of Dardenne was set up well for the girls, Sachtleben said.

“The course was in great shape, and was very playable.  Like many courses, it has some wide open fairways but a few holes you can get into trouble with,” Sachtleben said. “There were a few pin placements that seemed a little tough and some of the distances were a bit long for some of the girls, but overall it was set up for scoring.”

The other district team scores were: 3. Marquette 370, 4. Fort Zumwalt South 397, 5. Parkway North 408, 6. Francis Howell Central 428, 7. Francis Howell North 434, 8. Fort Zumwalt North 442, 9. Pattonville, 468, 10. Parkway Central 474.

It was new district grouping this year. However, this new setup was just as difficult was the previous pairings.

“We have been with St. Joseph’s Academy the last several years and have been second in districts since 2008 and had a goal to beat them this year, so instead things changed and we got an even tougher opponent in Lafayette,” Sachtleben said. “They are always very good, and since they had already beaten us this season, it was a great feeling knowing we were able to finally out score them, especially at districts.

“I thought my fourth girl would come in around 100 or the low 100s and I found out when she was on going to the 18 tee box what she had at that point. So, I knew then if she shot a 10 or under on the last hole we would win.”

Parkway West junior Emily Goldenstein was second with a 1-under 71. The medalist was Amanda Kim, of Fort Zumwalt South, who shot a 69.

“Emily had a perfect round going until the 18th hole,” Sachtleben said. “That was her first bogie. How can you expect someone to play better than that? I know she had several birdie putts she missed and was disappointed, but just putting herself in that position on almost every hole is incredible.”

The Longhorns’ Rebecca Su, a freshman, tied for fourth with an 84. Other Parkway West scores were: Junior Polly Barclay, who tied for eighth with a 90; senior Carolyn Stewart was 24th with a 106 and freshman Lily McMorrow was 41st with a 141.

“Rebecca Su is a freshman and doing an outstanding job,” Sachtleben said. “She is strong in all aspects of her game. Our third player, Polly Barclay, and she also played well shooting a 90.

“All the girls played well and the victory was a team win. We needed the four girls to do their part to keep our score low, and they did.”

The other West County girls who qualified for the sectional were: 3. Briana Cullimore, Lafayette, 75; 4. Elizabeth Leath, Parkway Central, 84; 7. Ashton Goldammer, Lafayette, 89; 8. Ashley Daniels, Marquette, 90; 10. Kiersten Kuc, Marquette, 91; 11. Michelle Stading, Lafayette, 92; Alison Tichenor, Marquette, 92; Stephanie Mazzoni, Parkway North, 92; 14. Mindy Hennrich, Lafayette, 97; Sammi Charpentier, Lafayette, 97; and Morgan Schettler, Marquette, 97; and 21. Gretchen Gregory, Parkway North, 98.

The sectional tournament will be Monday (Oct. 8) at Tanglewood Golf Course in Fulton.

In addition to Parkway West and Lafayette, Marquette will compete at the sectional as a team at sectionals because the Mustange advanced four individuals. The other teams in the sectional will be  Rock Bridge and Hickman.