CAP-7 CONFERENCE GOLF
Wakefield's Morgan Schultz closed out her round of 37 with a birdie at Falls Village Tuesday. Although the birdie putt looked like it might run astray — see Schultz leaning the ball into the hole in the middle photo — the shot found the bottom of the cup.
Wakefield golfers set another record, claim second win
With last spring's graduation of Wakefield golfer Courtney McKim, who ruled the Cap-7 Conference for seemingly four straight years, it was widely believed the league was wide-open.
Anybody's game, really. A chance for a new face to move to the top of the leaderboard.
And it appears that fresh face is that of Wakefield freshman Morgan Schultz.
Only two league matches into her career, the ninth-grader snagged her second straight medalist honors at Falls Village Tuesday, shooting a round of 37.
In addition to Schultz's accolades, the Lady Wolverines tallied a team score of 121 — good enough for first place, and resetting a school record achieved just last week. (The previous benchmark was 122.)
Wakefield golf coach Rick Riggleman explained Schultz competes with a composure that allows her to play beyond her years.
"She is loose and she is confident, and that's always a good thing," he said.
In fact, it appears the only miscue the freshman has made in her first two league matches was stepping on an ant hill Tuesday, and suffering a few bites. She later shrugged off the itchiness, closing out her round with a birdie.
Ironically, McKim was bitten by ants during a round in her 2007 state championship season, Riggleman pointed out. Although he did not intentionally mean to put pressure on the young golfer, "but maybe that is a good sign," he shrugged.
Wakefield's Stephanie Pribonic captured second place, recording a 40, three strokes better than last week. The Lady Wolverines' Katie Yelle finished with a 44, tied for fourth.
Led by Kaity Fuqua's 44, Leesville Road took second with a team score of 137, and Broughton (142) finished third.
Sanderson (158), Enloe (159), WF-R (161) and Millbrook (172) rounded out the competition.
With Wakefield's second consecutive victory, and Leesville and Broughton flip flopping second- and third-place finishes, the Lady Wolverines pull ahead in the chase for the conference title with 14 points, following by Broughton (11), Leesville (11), WF-R (6), Enloe (6), Sanderson (5) and Millbrook (3).
"With Leesville leapfrogging Broughton, that gives us a little bit of breathing room," Riggleman said. "But we still have to continue to play well to get where we want to go."
The Pride showed consistent improvement Tuesday as all five golfers improved on their previous week's score.
With Fuqua leading the way, Alli Mossinghoff (46), Mary Lee Free (47), Mariah Hopkins (54) and Hannah Jacobson (55) dropped at least 1-2 strokes off their game.
Peri Wolfe (50), Jessica Perez (53) and Najah Owens (55) helped Sanderson make the biggest one-week jump, dropping 12 strokes between the opener and Tuesday's match.
Millbrook's Sarah Bashford and Alex Klimczyk both shot rounds of 56.
While Wakefield has cruised to two early victories, Riggleman doesn't expect his squad to grow complacent.
Wakefield played Athens Drive and Broughton at the Carolina Country Club last week in an informal match, the Lady Wolverines were thumped by the Jaguars by 10 strokes. Though Wakefield did outperform Broughton.
"We were served a slice of humble pie," the coach said. "But I liked that our girls didn't hesitate when asked if they wanted to play the state champs. They know they can only get better playing better competition."
The Cap-7 Conference hosts another match Wednesday, Sept. 9, at Wil-Mar. Next week, the league plays its match at Wildwood Green Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Top 10 finishes at Falls Village
1. Morgan Schultz — WHS — 37
2. Stephanie Pribonic — WHS — 40
3. Mary Morgan Bitler — BHS — 43
4. JB Shavlik — BHS — 44
4. Kaity Fuqua — LRHS — 44
4. Katie Yelle — WHS — 44
7. Alli Mossinghoff — LRHS — 46
8. Mary Lee Free — LRHS — 47
9. Maggie Whisnant — WF-R — 49
10. Peri Wolfe — SHS — 50
Wakefield's Stephanie Pribonic shot a round of 40, capturing second place Tuesday.
