Cardinal Gibbons claims 4A East girls golf regional

Nothing seems to faze Athens Drive’s Jennifer Chang. Not even one-hour frost delay.

The talented sophomore ignored cold conditions and fired a 5-under par 67 to win the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A East regional girls golf title Tuesday at Heritage Golf Club.

Chang, in the fourth group off the tee, and others arrived to a 34-degree temperature. Play finally began under “toasty” 45-degree conditions.

“That’s a strong score, isn’t it?” said Heritage head pro David Sykes. “The guys in the pro shop this morning were thinking the low score would be a 70. A 5-under is a good score anywhere.”

Chang finished with six birdies and one bogey and then went back onto the course to encourage her teammates for the next three hours-plus. Last year she advanced to state as an individual, but this year the Jaguars claimed one of three team berths with a second-place score of 250. Kayla Parsons shot 81 and Rachel Lipman 102.

“I wanted to support them,” Chang said. “I want to give them positive reinforcement.”

Cardinal Gibbons won the team title at 225. Hailey Freedman carded a 71, Riley Smyth 74 and Hannah Rose Bruxvoort 80. Wakefield was third with 262 behind Casey Burroughs (86), Susannah Ireland (88) and Rachel Hulicki (88).

Freedman, who played with Chang, was the runner-up and only other player under par at 1-under.

“I just played my game – hitting fairways and greens,” Freedman said. “I knew (Chang) would shoot a great score. I’m happy with my score, but she scored lower.”

More qualifiers

The 17 low scores that weren’t one of the top three teams also advanced to state. Megan Kanaby was a fourth Gibbons qualifier (80) and Shreeya Singh (90) a fourth Wakefield qualifier.

Other girls advancing to state with rounds in the 70s were Apex Friendship’s Caroline Duggan, 73; Holly Springs’ Natalie Petersen, 75; Garner’s Kayla Ward, 75; Leesville Road’s Mogie Adamchik, 77; Wake Forest’s Samantha Bennett, 77; and Panther Creek’s Maggie Basile, 78.

Others qualifiers were Middle Creek’s Jillian Preisach, 80; Apex’s Kaley Barts, 80; Heritage’s Kallie Faulkner, 81; Millbrook’s Kristen Holman, 81; Panther Creek’s Jenna Nagy, 86; Broughton’s Cate Brewer, 86; and Garner’s Tylor Whitley, 88.

The last three spots were claimed by Green Hope’s Lauren Nee, Fuquay-Varina’s Brittany Greene and Wakefield’s Singh. Their berths were determined by a one-hole playoff after four tied with a 90.

This story was originally published October 20, 2015 at 7:40 PM with the headline "Cardinal Gibbons claims 4A East girls golf regional."