Girls golf team earns first place finish

The girls' golf team finished first out of five at the Mallard Creek Course in Sweet Home on Wednesday, April 15.

Sisters finished with a 354, 63 strokes ahead of Newport (417). Cottage Grove placed third (460) and Sweet Home finished fourth (554). Stayton did not field a full team and was given an incomplete.

Despite the fact the course was soggy and wet, three Outlaws players, Emily Rawls, Stephanie Cole and Hannah Harrer, recorded personal bests.

Rawls led the Lady Outlaws with a 39-40 for a 79, a personal best, by seven strokes.

"Emily really played well," said Coach Mary Flande. "Her hard work in the off season is paying off for her. Emily struck the ball well all day and her short game was very strong."

Rawls' best shot of the day came at the second hole (par 4, 230 yards). Emily drove the ball over the creek approximately 200 yards, chipped it onto the green and made the four-foot putt for birdie.

"After the first nine holes I realized I wasn't playing bogie golf; I was playing par golf," beamed Rawls. "After the match I was in shock with how well I'd done. I've never broke 80 before. Kate Bigelow (last year's state champion) shot a 76 and I realized I was competing at her level. I didn't even play in the state tournament last year and to come to within three strokes of her (Kate) just blew me away."

Cole recorded a personal best of 92 and Harrer shot a 95, a personal best by an improvement of six strokes.

"Stephanie (Cole) and Hannah (Harrer) should be very pleased with their scores," said Flande. "These girls kept the ball in the fairway all day and played a solid short game as well."

Shelby Ross had a couple of bad holes but recovered well and finished her round with an 88.

"We always talk about that it's not about having a bad hole but about how you recover the next hole," said Flande. "Overall, Shelby played well and her experience and leadership was evident today."

Paige Stevens shot a 62 on the front nine but improved by three strokes on the back to finish at 121.

Flande told The Nugget her players have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks but she's confident they will continue to practice hard and improve as a team.

Next up for the Lady Outlaws is the District Preview which was set to be held at the Middlefield Course in Cottage Grove on Tuesday, April 21.