A dominant career for Bishop Garrigan’s senior golfers came to a championship finish on Friday as the Golden Bears wrapped up their third straight girls class 1A state championship, ensuring that the graduating seniors would go their whole career without ever losing a state title.
Bishop Garrigan’s two day score of 713 was enough to prevail over second place Grundy Center’s 739 and third place Central Lyon’s 757. The Golden Bears did it with stellar play up top, with Annie Burns placing fifth overall with a two day score of 167 and Ava Eisenbarth tying for sixth at 168 as no other team had two in the top six, and also did it with depth, as number three golfer Riley Rosenmeyer finished 19th at 186, higher than any other team’s third best golfer, and Meredith Illg rounded out the top four in 29th at 194, better than any other team’s number four golfer. Bishop Garrigan also had Avery Lichter tie for 31st with a 195 and Oliva Arndorfer place 41st with a 205.
Head Coach Victor Berte says he can’t recall a group of golfers who have accomplished as much as Bishop Garrigan’s seniors.
The final margin for the Golden Bears was closer than the past two championship wins, but after leading Grundy Center by just six strokes after day one, Bishop Garrigan made a big day two push, shooting twenty strokes better than the Spartans over day two of the competition. The team knew exactly what they had to do according to Coach Berte.
Coach Berte feels the conditions were favorable for the Golden Bears.
Eisenbarth proved to be a key factor in that push, as her day two score of 81 was the second best round two score of anyone in the whole field. Coach Berte feels Eisenbarth put it all together in that performance.
The Golden Bears finish undefeated for the second consecutive season and add another state banner to a storied program.
