Springboro – Arcanum’s girls golf team turned a season of steady success into one more opportunity to compete, rallying to finish second at the Division II Southwest District tournament Wednesday at Heatherwoode Golf Course in Springboro.
The Trojans shot a 390 to claim district runner-up honors and qualify for the state tournament. Coach Jesse Warner said the team’s Sunday practice round gave him reason to believe they could make a run.
“Our practice round Sunday, we did better on the back nine, so I knew kind of once we were done front nine that we maybe had a chance going into the back nine,” Warner said.
Arcanum’s five golfers finished within eight strokes of one another. Adalyn Paul led the Trojans with a 95, placing 18th. Sadie Waldo shot 96 for 22nd, followed by Brooklynn Eley with a 97 for 25th. Ella Warren carded a 102 to place 34th, and Brynn Byers shot 103 for 36th. The team’s four lowest scores combined for 390.
Warner said the golfers entered the day focused on enjoying the experience, unsure how they would match up against the district field.
“They’re like, ‘We’re just gonna go and have fun. We don’t really care what we shoot,’” he said. “I feel like they felt because it was the district tournament that they didn’t stand a chance. And I tried to tell them, ‘You’re gonna be more competitive than you think.’”
As scores came in, the Trojans gathered to watch the finish and wait for the final standings. The excitement built among the players and parents as Arcanum’s state qualification was confirmed.
The district result capped a strong season for the Trojans. Arcanum finished 10-1 overall and 7-1 in Western Ohio Athletic Conference play, and won the WOAC girls golf championship. The team’s depth showed throughout the season, with four golfers averaging below 53 strokes per round in the WOAC statistics: Waldo at 49.7, Paul at 51.7, Eley at 52.2 and Warren at 52.4.
“Our one to five was separated by eight strokes,” Warner said, emphasizing the team’s depth.
Arcanum’s only other state-qualifying golf teams came in 1994 and 1995, when the program competed in Division I.
The community made sure the Trojans knew how much the achievement meant, welcoming them home with a fire truck and police escort into town as supporters lined the street and cheered. Moments like that are part of what makes high school sports special: a community coming together to celebrate its young athletes and the work they put in.
Now the Trojans will take that support with them to the state tournament.
