No. 2: Dunkle shot an even-par 71 to win medalist at Heatherwoode Golf Club, her home course.
Dunkle shared hugs with her coach, teammates and competitors. But on the inside, her tightest hug was for her dad.
Matt Dunkle introduced his daughter to golf, a sport she is playing like few 10th-graders can. Taylor’s dad died two years ago.
“I’ve been playing golf since I was really young, and it was important to my dad,” she said. “So I’m trying to do this for him. I’m really happy because it means a lot to him, and he would be really happy about it.”
Dunkle overcame two early bogeys, made back-to-back birdies twice and made par on the final hole, a par-5 she thought she should have birdied. Without fail she followed her most important ritual on all 71 strokes to remind her of her dad.
“One of my things that I do for each swing is hold my necklace,” she said. “I have three jewels that represent three people whom I lost in the past.
“He’s with me every time.”
Springboro, Centerville, second-place Sycamore and Turner, one of three individuals to qualify, will play Oct. 21-22 at the Ohio State Gray Course. For first-year Springboro coach Hannah McCrabb, it will be a return to where she played for the Panthers in ’14 and ’15, the only previous state appearances for the program.
“Surreal, right,” McCrabb said. “I’m very proud. They did it all. I’m just there to help.”
Springboro earned the third and final qualifying spot by one stroke over Cincinnati Ursuline, 333-334. As scores were being added to the live-scoring app, the Panthers were huddled and hoping. They were tied with Ursuline while waiting for the final three holes of Ursuline’s final golfer to come in. There was a bogey in there and the Panthers were on to state with Dunkle’s 71, 86s from Emily Pettigrew and Kinsley Brown and Morgan Meek’s 90. Danielle Stinson shot 93.
“I think everybody but me and one other teammate were crying, including our coach,” Dunkle said.
As they waited, Meek said to Dunkle: “Don’t tell me we’re gonna make it because you don’t know that.”
“I shot even today by being confident, so we need to be confident,” Dunkle said.
“OK, we’re gonna make it,” Meek said.
Centerville’s annual trip to state was not dramatic. The Elks are going for the eighth straight year and ninth time since 2012.
“In 2012 we were in a very similar position and nobody was expecting us to make it, so I know exactly how they feel,” Elks coach Mike Dalton said of Springboro.
Centerville got off to a slow start Wednesday with four bogeys and three double-bogeys on the first three holes and trailed Sycamore by seven shots at the turn. But the Elks shot 5-over par on the back nine to finish at 305 while Sycamore finished at 320.
“I knew we’d play better,” Dalton said. “I knew 18 holes is an advantage for us. We’ve played a lot of tough courses and a lot of tough competition. They just had to calm down.”
Senior Morgan Rodgers, who won the district tournament as a freshman, shot 72 to finish in a second-place tie with Sycamore’s Caroline Thompson. Brigid Nickell, a sophomore and the only non-senior in the Elks’ lineup, shot 77 as did Sanjana Reddy. Alana Miller shot 79 and Leann Harker 81.
“I’m very happy that we get to go, and we can’t take it for granted,” said Rodgers, who will be playing in her fourth state tournament. “I’m just really grateful to be part of a team that works hard and we’re able to do that every year.”
Turner, a junior, shot 75 and tied for fifth with Lakota East’s Clare Yeazell to make her first trip to state. Cincinnati Mercy McAuley’s Kylee Heidemann shot 74 to claim the first individual spot, joining Turner and Yeazell.
“I’m so happy for Ally,” Dunkle said. “Because if our team hadn’t made it, she wasn’t going as an individual. So we all just get to go together, and it’s super fun. She’s one of my favorite people to play with.”
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