Gracie Knobloch has shot her way into the Class 1A State Golf Tournament. The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn junior finished second at the Regional Final May 15 at Storm Lake’s Buena Vista Golf Course at Lake Creek.
The top six individuals qualified for the Class 1A State Tournament which is scheduled for May 23 and 24 at American Legion Golf Course in Marshalltown. Knobloch shot a 44 on the back nine and then played the front nine in 47 for a 91 total.
“Super excited to see Gracie finish as Runner Up Medalist at the Regional Final,” exclaimed HMS coach Cheryl Kroese. “She played consistent golf throughout the day to put herself in the right position at the end of the day. Gracie has put in a lot of hard work not only in season, but also out of season to improve her game and it paid off in the end! Can’t wait to see what she does next week at State!”
Kinsey Schirmer, the Hawks’ other competitor at Storm Lake fell just short of advancing. The senior was ninth with nine-hole scores of 54 and 48 to total 102. “Kinsey finished in ninth place at the Regional Final which is also something to be extremely proud of.” stated her coach. “She had about three holes she got herself into trouble on, which can happen easily on a course full of water and hazard like we played at Lake Creek. Kinsey is definitely going to be missed next season, but I have been honored to be able to coach her these past four years. She finished the season as a 1st Team All-Conference player and was also Academic All-Conference. These are both fantastic accomplishments! We wish Kinsey the best as she heads to USD next fall!”
The top two teams at Lake Creek moved on to State. Making the trip will be Central Lyon, with a 403 score, and Akron-Westfield with a 410 total. The Medalist was Mariah Gerleman of Central Lyon with an 18-hole total of 81. Joining her and Knobloch as the Individual State Qualifiers from this meet were Maggie Bloom, of Alta-Aurelia (93 total), Jordyn Sitzmann of Kingsley-Pierson (94), Avery Westphal of Alta-Aurelia (97) and Lainey Schuknecht of Akron-Westfield (97).
Team Scores
Central Lyon 403, Akron-Westfield 410, Kingsley-Pierson 419, Alta-Aurelia 421, MMCRU 443, Harris-Lake Park 444, Westwood 446.
*=State Qualifier
Individual State Qualifiers
Mariah Gerleman, Central Lyon, 81; Gracie Knobloch, HMS, 91; Maggie Bloom, Alta-Aurelia, 93; Jordyn Sitzmann, Kingsley-Pierson, 94; Avery Westphal, Alta-Aurelia, 97; Lainey Schuknecht, Akron-Westfield 97.
Other HMS Score
Kinsey Schirmer 102 (9th).