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LaBrae’s Harford shoots 68 in state tourmament
LaBrae High School senior Haylee Harford hit all 18 greens in regulation on Friday. Now she’s 18 holes from her second Division II girls state golf title.
Harford shot an opening-round 68 on Friday at Ohio State’s Gray Course to claim a share of the lead with Alexis Jones of Shelby.
“Everything went pretty well out there today,” Harford said. “My only flaw was I had a couple three-putts, but these greens are tricky.”
Harford, who won a state title as a freshman with Warren JFK, opened with a 36, but closed strong with a 32 on the back nine. She’s pleased with her start, but understands the challenge is still ahead.
“It all comes down to every day’s a new day,” Harford said. “I’m just gonna go out there and try to do everything I did today.”
Harford and Jones tee off today at 9:48. Playing with the co-leader will add one more obstacle to Harford’s round.
“I’m just trying to do what I can do,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to play with her so I can see how she’s doing, but I’m not going to put any added pressure on myself.”
The Lakeview girls golf team also enjoyed a good start on Friday. Kaylee Neumeister led the Bulldogs with a first-round score of 79 — good for 11th overall — while Ryan Rosenberger (84) and Ashley Frasca (85) also contributed solid rounds.
“Ryan and Ashley were really on top of their games today,” Bulldogs coach Mike Turco said. “Ashley has been dipping down into the mid to low 80s and it was great to see her on this stage perform so well.”
Neumeister left a few strokes on the course on Friday, according to her coach. But that’s also the encouraging part about her opening round of 79.
“She’s going to make the necessary adjustments,” Turco said. “I think nerves played a little bit of a factor for everyone.
“I’m very excited for tomorrow.”
The Bulldogs tee off at 9:56 a.m.
Cardinal Mooney posted a team score of 341 on the opening day of the Division II boys state golf tournament at the Scarlet Golf Course.
Ken Keller and Nick Braydich had matching round of 78 to lead the Cardinals, which sit in 10th place after the first round. Keller and Braydich had the sixth best round of the day for all Division II golfers and trail the leader by four strokes.
Joey Passerotti shot 91 and Matt Daprile shot 94 to round out the scoring for the Cardinals.
In boys Division III, Ryan Fowler of Warren JFK (71), Jacob Harrah of Newton Falls (75) and Nolan Snyder of Western Reserve (75) all find themselves positioned in the top 10 after the first round at the North Star Golf Club in Sunbury.
Columbiana is in eighth place with a team score of 336. Warren JFK is in 10th after a round of 344.