Panorama girls golfers play 18 holes Monday, nine Tuesday

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The full roster of the Panorama girls golf team poses in their meet uniforms. From left: Sarah Kastner, Gabby Welberg, Taylor Raibikis, Abby Cobb, Alexandra Kurtz, Jordan Douglass, Jaycie Maschino, Sophia Hunt, Hailey Meacham, Emma Wasson, Gracie Phillips, Amanda Holwegner. Photo courtesy Melissa Hochstetler.

WAUKEE — A visit to Sugar Creek Tuesday for a quadrangular hosted by Earlham turned out to be a happy occasion for the Panorama girls golfers, who fired a combined 202 to claim the victory.

West Central Valley carded a 222, Earlham a 224 and North Polk a 246.

Alex Kurtz (42), Abby Cobb (48), Gabby Welberg (52) and Amanda Holwegner (60) scored for the Panthers, and were joined by Gracie Phillips (63) in shooting new personal-best nine-hole scores. Senior Taylor Raibikis finished with a 64.

Head coach Melissa Hochstetler said she had many reasons to be pleased, including the progress shown by Raibikis.

“Last year we completely overhauled her swing and to see how she is coming back this year is amazing,” she explained. “Anytime you change a swing it takes awhile to master those changes, and Taylor is definitely impressive.”

Kurtz broke Cobb’s school record, set two weeks ago, for a par-34 course, with the team also resetting the combined par-34 school record. Along the way, Holwegner and Phillips each recorded their first pars on a hole, both personal marks as the former was playing only her third round ever, and the latter just her fourth.

“All the girls are showing lots of potential!” Hochstetler said. “Gabby is doing great for being just a freshman and Abby is consistently bringing down her score. For her to be a sophomore and already shooting in the 40’s is great.”

Kurtz’s 42 earned medalist honors Tuesday, with Earlham’s Meredith Hochstetler’s 45 securing runner-up medalist recognition.

The Panthers were one of six teams playing in the Bondurant-Farrar Invite at Terrace Hills Monday.

Roland-Story and Colfax-Mingo claimed the top two spots with cards of 366 and 386, respectively. Norwalk was fourth with a 400, with B-F (437), Panorama (451) and PCM (494) also making the rounds.

“We didn’t play here last year because of weather, so it was as if the girls were seeing it for the first time yesterday, and three of our girls were playing 18 holes for the first time,” coach Hochstetler said. “The weather was beautiful and we had a good time even with some of our higher scores. It was a good experience to be able to play 18, and the teams that were there were a lot of fun to play with.”

Cobb’s 47-50–97 ties the 18-hole, par-71 school record set last season by Anna Duis. Kurtz shot 51-61–114, Welberg 64-52–116 and Raibikis 57-67–124 to complete the Panther scoring. Holwegner 70-67–137 and Phillips 65-80–145 also played for the Panthers.

The Panorama girls will host an invitational at Lake Panorama National Monday in their next competitive action.

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