PREP GIRLS GOLF: Stillson wins fourth-straight NLC championship; NorthWood wins team title – Goshen News
ELKHART — Cybil Stillson said she started slowly Saturday. Starting slow for her on the golf course, though, is a great start for most people.
The NorthWood senior eventually righted the ship, finishing with a 73 to win the Northern Lakes Conference championship tournament Saturday at Bent Oak GC. It was Stillson’s fourth-straight NLC title, making her the second individual in conference history to win four NLC tournaments in a row (Emily Johnson, Warsaw, 2003-06).
“I think I thought about (the record) before the round, and I felt like I got off to a slow start just because I played a little hesitant,” Stillson said. “I tried to put it off, but I felt like I just kept it in the back of my head. So then, on the back nine, I just told myself to ‘play golf.’”
Stillson’s 73 helped the Panthers shoot a 348 as a team, winning the team championship by 16 shots over second-place Plymouth. It was the ninth NLC title in program history for NorthWood, the most of any program within the conference.
“I’m just so proud of our girls,” NorthWood coach Adam Yoder said. “Every season’s a different journey, and they’ve just really grown up a lot in the last four weeks. Hopefully we’re trending in the right direction toward the state tournament.”
STILLSON FOUR-PEATS
When Stillson said she started slow, it was more so about how she felt than the numbers being written on the scorecard.
“I just didn’t feel like I was in a groove,” Stillson said. “Usually when I’m off to a good start, I just feel totally confident, trusting every part of my game. And (Saturday), I just kind of felt like I had to grind to hit good shots.”
The senior figured it out on the back nine and had a chance to shoot even-par for the round heading into the final hole. A 20-foot putt on the 18th green wouldn’t fall, though, and she tapped in for her one-over 73. She won the individual title by 11 shots over second-place Annastasia Hutchings from Plymouth, who carded an 84.
Yoder provided some historical context for Stillson’s accomplishment.
“In the history of the conference, only two people have (won four straight): her and Emily Johnson,” Yoder said. “We’ve had a long history here of our number one player playing well here in the NLC tournament. I think this is the 10th time in the last 14 years that a NorthWood girl has won a state tournament.
“(Stillson) knows the history and she knows what it means. For her to just get four — and the way she did it (Saturday): just focused on herself, very solid all-around, just didn’t make very many mistakes. And that leads to a great score.”
ATTENTION TOWARD POSTSEASON
The focus for NorthWood and the rest of the girls golf teams in Indiana now shifts toward the postseason, with sectional tournaments beginning Friday. The Panthers do have one more nine-hole match with Penn and LaPorte on Wednesday before they battle it out in the sectional held at Stonehenge GC in Winona Lake this Saturday, Sept. 18.
The 2021 NorthWood team has a chance to help achieve something the program has never done: make it to four-straight state tournaments. Stillson and classmate Bre Goss also have a chance to make some personal history to be the only two individuals in the program’s storied history to make the state tournament four times as well.
For Stillson, her and her teammates are aware of what could be accomplished in the upcoming weeks. She says they’re all determined to check off those goals and make another trip to Prairie View GC in Carmel.
“We all kind of know, in our heads, and we don’t really verbally talk about it to each other,” Stillson said. “We’re all just competitive in our own ways: I’m kind of quieter, where as Riley (Kitson) is more outgoing. We’re all different, but I think we all want to succeed as a team because we know Adam’s history. We kind of want to do it for coach Yoder and keep his streak going, so playing as a team is kind of what’s helped us.”
Yoder admitted that he loves reading about history and looking up statistics. While he thinks a lot about what could come for NorthWood in the next month, he knows that they need to take it one step at a time if they want to reach the final weekend of the season.
“Next week is about getting ready for Stonehenge; go practice there … we’re excited about what the state tournament could hold for us, but just survive and advance next week is the main goal,” Yoder said.
2021 NLC GIRLS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT — RESULTS
1. NorthWood, 348 — Cybil Stillson 73 (medalist), Riley Kitson 85, Bre Goss 86, Bella Sechrist 104, Kira Schrock 106
2. Plymouth, 364 — Annastasia Hutchings 84, Elaina McDonald 92, Hannah LaFree 93, Emma Rozycki 95, Claire McDonald 106
3. Warsaw, 370 — Olivia Robinson-Gay 85, Marie Frazzetta 90, Abbigail Davis 93, Abbey Petterson 102, Delaney Byron 118
4. Concord, 396 — Rayna Boessler 97, Madison Weaver 97, Avery McDowell 101, Ryleigh Robinson 101, Mia McEachern 114
5. Goshen, 420 — Maya Narayan 93, Briza Tayagua-Delgado 98, Saram Kim 110, Kiley Wise 119, Haylee Evans 119
6. Wawasee, 433 — Taylor Cripe 97, Morgan Reel 104, Rylee Firestone 106, Ayla Torres 126, Delaney Delagrange 127
7. Northridge, 447 — Karisa Dyer 86, Lizzy Irving 107, Addy Irving 117, Maria Papandrea 137
8. Mishawaka, 459 — Grace Vandenburg 90, Claire Braniff 120, Lillian Stone 124, Kloey Kinnear 125, Sara Burns 133
All-NLC: NorthWood: Stillson, Kitson, Goss; Plymouth: Hutchings; Warsaw: Robinson-Gay, Frazzetta; Northridge: Dyer; Wawasee: Cripe; Mishawaka: Vandenburg; Concord: Boessler.
Honorable mention all-NLC: Goshen: Narayan, Tayagua-Delgado; Concord: Weaver; Plymouth: Elaina McDonald; Plymouth: Claire McDonald.
NLC Coach of the Year: Adam Yoder, NorthWood