GRANGER ― Before each South Bend Saint Joseph girls golf outing, senior Marley Dunham puts on a white hat with the IHSAA “State Finals” logo embroidered across the front. The hat is more than just a matching accessory for the Huskies’ baby blue and black uniform.
It’s a reminder to Dunham that she has competed at the highest level before. The hat isn’t exclusive to the state tournament, but her wearing it carried an extra meaning Friday, Sept. 19, as Saint Joseph competed in the IHSAA sectional tournament at Knollwood Country Club.
“It just rounds out the high school golf career as a senior,” Dunham said. “It’s like, ‘Why not?’”
Dunham has reached the state finals the past two seasons prior to her senior campaign, and the Huskies are competing at a high enough level in 2025 to where Dunham could make it three years in a row. Saint Joseph, as a program, is on track to make its second-straight appearance at Prairie View Golf Club.
The first step was repeating as Sectional 4 champions, as the Huskies did Friday in Granger. Saint Joseph narrowly edged out Penn by a score of 329 to 332, with Dunham finishing as the top individual with a 75.
Head coach Dan Mentock came into the day with sky-high nerves, ones that were only calmed once the final scores came in.
“It was a little bit of disbelief,” Mentock said. “We know that [Penn] is going to bring their best, and when it comes to regionals, we should be in that conversation.”
The top three teams from each sectional advance to regional play, so the Kingsmen’s second-place finish didn’t sting as much as it normally would have. However, head coach Brian Matthews could tell the Penn girls walked out of Knollwood disappointed.
He said he could sense the Kingsmen’s nerves before the 9 a.m. tee time, perhaps the biggest factor in a slow start on the front nine holes before picking it up on the back nine.
“I think they knew they had it in their grasp and just let it slip away,” Matthews said. “… We lose a lot of strokes on the putting green. They have the short game and the mental game that we’re trying to build up to.”
Claire Tobin was Penn’s top individual, as the senior finished second overall with a 76. Rounding out the individual podium was Dunham’s sophomore sister, Lucy, with a 78.
Individuals who advanced to regional play without their team were Elkhart senior Natalie Smith (94), South Bend Trinity senior Annie Palmer (99) and South Bend Adams senior Sophia Maddox (104). While Penn and Saint Joseph advancing to the Lake Central-hosted regional was not unexpected, Mishawaka Marian rounded out the team podium with a 416-team score.
This will be the Knights’ first regional appearance since 2022, but head coach George Grenert was not surprised by Marian’s success Friday. Marian’s poise under pressure isn’t a trait he would attribute to himself, though.
After a slow start, Grenert said he had the Knights tell him how they could get back in it, rather than the other way around. In essence, he had Marian coaching itself.
“I didn’t do anything, the girls did,” Grenert said. “They dug down deep … It might have been devastating if they hadn’t of figured out a way to do it.”
Senior Celia Florkowski was the Knights’ top scorer with an 86. She’s advanced to regional play all four years of her high school career, whether as an individual or with Marian as a whole.
A state finals appearance still eludes her, something she’s using as motivation.
“It’s crazy that this was my last sectional,” Florkowski said. “This is my last chance to do good at regional. That’s really important to me.”
Florkowski, Dunham and Penn senior Scarlett Biever (81) were grouped together Friday in what has become a bit of tradition during their four seasons as St. Joseph County rivals. Over time, they’ve become anything but that, making Friday’s sectional an emotional one for all three.
Biever, Dunham and Florkowski each hugged one another after finishing their final hole at the course that they’ve played against each other on multiple times a season for four years. While all three of them – and their respective programs – advance to Sandy Pines Country Club for the regional at 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, Friday’s sectional was likely the last time the three of them will play all 18 holes against each other, together.
“They’re some of my closest friends, and I have golf to thank for meeting them,” Dunham said.
Other area teams, individuals to advance
Northridge won Sectional 6 with a team score of 333. Alex Reschly finished as the top individual with a 72.
Concord’s Ella Carlisle (100), as well as Farfield’s Bella Blosser (99) and Mallory McGowen (100), also advanced to Regional 2 at East Noble Friday, Sept. 26 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
The La Porte Slicers won Sectional 3 with a team score of 377, and Marquette Catholic’s second-place finish of 435 was enough for the Blazers to also advance to Regional 1 at Sandy Pines. La Porte’s Anna Menne was the top individual with an 85.
Individuals from Sectional 3 to advance were John Glenn’s Morgan Wojitas (96) and New Prairie’s Olaina Schroeder (102).
NorthWood finished second in Sectional 8 with a team score of 356. Sophie Richmond was the second-best individual with a 77.
Kyle Smedley is a high school sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Saint Joseph girls golf edges Penn for sectional, plus other South Bend area advancers
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
