Hatter, Lafayette Jeff golf dominate again at sectional

Just two days after taking medal honors at the City/County Tournament, Lafayette Jeff’s Samantha Hatter doubled up at theBattle Ground Golf Course on Saturday by taking the top spot in the Lafayette Sectional tournament.

Hatter shot a 37 on the front nine and finished as the runaway winner with a 4-over-par 76. The Bronchos shot 336, 41 strokes better than second-place Central Catholic. That effort qualified the Bronchos for the Lafayette Regional, which will be held at Battle Ground next Saturday.

Jeff’s victory, though, was expected after the Bronchos won the City/County Tournament by 35 strokes on Thursday. The drama came in determining which teams would secure the other two regional qualifying spots.

Central Catholic, which finished third in the City/County meet, shot a 377 behind Morgan Brown’s 85. West Lafayette grabbed third place with a 395, two shots ahead of Benton Central’s 397.

McCutcheon, which finished second in Thursday’s City/County meet, shot 415 while fifth-place Harrison shot 410. Benton Central’s Tessa Brouillette (87), McCutcheon’s Hailey Harris (90) and Harrison’s Emily Lewellen (92) advanced to the regional as individuals.

The sectional proved to be a little bit of redemption for the Knights, who were down to four golfers late in the season because of injuries. Central Catholic fielded a full team Saturday.

“We’ve played a lot of tournaments with just four girls so it’s nice to have them all healthy again,” Central Catholic coach Tom Decker said. “With another week they can start feeling good about the game again so we’re happy to survive and advance. The girls buckled down and did what they had to do get to where we are, so we’re extremely excited.”

Rachel Ho, who led West Lafayette’s golfers with a 90, said there was measurable pressure on every hole as the teams knew that a handful of shots would make the difference.

“Everyone struggled across the board,” Ho said. “We worked so hard and I’m happy we’ve got another week to show what we can do. I made the turn and realized everyone was having a hard day so I thought we had a chance. I was so stressed over the last nine and every shot was like, ‘Just get it in,’ because two strokes is nothing and every shot counts.”