The girls golf season came to a close as September concluded, with the Saint Joe team having many victories, both personally in their game, and in placing in various tournaments throughout the past few months.  

The season started with senior MacKenzie Schmeltz representing the team in back to back tournaments. First, she scored an 85 at the Homestead Invite at Chestnut Hills Golf Club.  Later in the week, she traveled to McCormick Creek Golf Course for an invitational hosted by Northwood High School. There, she shot an 82, and placed fourth overall. 

In the following week, more of the team was back in action at the New Prairie Invitational. Sophomore Margaux Hannewyk started out her season strong with a 103 that included a birdie on her final hole made with a 7 iron from 100 yards out. Freshman Cate Lee made her high school golf debut with a 144. MacKenzie rounded out the team with a 80, going one under for her fist six holes and ultimately medaling for fifth place. 

The next week saw the full realization of the team, just in time for a busy schedule of three matches and an invitational in a span of six days. Monday was a victory at Elbel against Riley and Washington. Tuesday was at the Indian’s home course of Juday Creek, with a close loss to Concord. However, personal victories still remained with MacKenzie putting up a personal best of 37. The team returned to Elbel to play Clay on Wednesday, claiming a win with a team total of 207. There were two personal bests at this match, first with MacKenzie shooting another 37 with back to back birdies to finish, and Margaux met her goal of breaking 50 with a 48. To round out the busy week, the girls traveled to Round Barn Golf Course for the Rochester Invite. Their team total was 429, with Freshman Morgan Brackett shooting 146, Sophomore Carsyn Rutland a 140 and Sophomore Elle Guyton a 107. MacKenzie put up an 83, and Margaux again was reaching her goals, this time breaking 100 with a 99. 

To finish out their regular conference season, the team faced John Glenn and New Prairie at home. Despite losing to the number three and four ranked teams in the conference, the girls played their best, with Margaux shooting a 49 and MacKenzie a 38, including a chip in birdie on hole two. The team finished 4 and 7 for the regular season, and was off to Swan Lake Golf Course for the NIC tournament. On this windy, overcast day, the girls held on with a collective score of 422. Morgan put up a 134, Cate a 127, Elle a 107 and Margaux a 106. MacKenzie shot an 82, tying for fifth overall. Combined with her low regular season scores, MacKenzie was named First-Team All-NIC.

For their final event of the season, the girls played at Knollwood Country Club for sectionals. The team shot 462, with Morgan putting up a 138 and Cate a 132. Margaux Hannewyk shot a 103, and was one place away from advancing to regionals, and is a promising player for seasons to come. MacKenzie Schmeltz shot 89, advancing her individually to the regional at Noble Hawk Golf Course. There, she shot a 37 on the front, including two birdies. On the back, she was forced to take 2 penalty drops, resulting in a 45 and an overall 82. She finished one stroke away from advancing to state. The captain comments that she “is so proud of the team this season” and is “grateful to have been a part of the program for the last four years.” 

Number two Margaux says that “Even with such a small team, we had a lot of fun and made lots of improvements! Everyone is always super supportive of each other.” She also notes, “I’m very excited to see what everyone will do next season, and I hope we get some new faces as well!” Congratulations to all the girls on a great season!