Just as it had a week earlier at the 9th Region Girls Golf Championships, Lexington Christian pulled well clear of their pursuers on Tuesday at the State First Round Tournament at StoneCrest Golf Course in Prestonsburg.
Eagles Piper Dunn (-1), Caroline Lankford (even par 70) and Grace Soale (+2) finished tied for second, fourth and tied for fifth, respectively, with LCA’s fourth teammate Elle Chamberland (+8) not far behind in 12th place in the individual standings on the mountain course’s 5,375-yard, par-70 layout.
The score of LCA’s fifth golfer, Avery Almy didn’t count toward the team total, but if she did, she wouldn’t have hurt them with her +9 finish which tied for 15th.
Combined, LCA topped second place Madison Central by 24 strokes and third place Corbin by 64. Those three teams, plus 10 individual qualifiers outside those teams advanced to next week’s Leachman-Buick-GMC KHSAA State Final Round Championship at Bowling Green Country Club in Bowling Green on Oct. 9-10.
At last week’s 9th Region tournament at The Woodford Club in Versailles, the Eagles topped Madison Central by 25 strokes with Soale earning the individual region title at 1-under after a tiebreaking playoff hole with her teammate, Dunn.
“We’re rolling pretty good. We’ve just got a bunch of really good players,” said LCA coach Matthew Soale, Grace’s father. “We played really good one through five. That course is a lot. It’s a lot of slope, a lot of elevation change and the girls did a really good job to not get in any trouble.”
Lexington Catholic eighth grader Parker Haddix, the 2025 9th Region champion, topped the State First Round leaderboard on Tuesday with a 4-under round of 66 for a first place medal and one of 10 individual spots in next week’s field for Regions 9-12. Teammates Ava Carroll (+8) and Ellie Fightmaster (+13) also qualified.
Frederick Douglass will send Willa Borough (-1), who tied for second, and Candace Tanmas (+9).
Like George Rogers Clark’s winning boys team on Monday, none of LCA’s players had seen the picturesque StoneCrest course before their weekend practice round. By the end of the practice round, the Eagles made the determination to carry their bags up and down the hilly track instead of using their customary push carts.
“It’s a lot of up and down with a lot of hard holes to walk,” Coach Soale said. “They didn’t want to carry any extra weight.”
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s golf postseason has been split into State First Round and State Final Round sections since 2024. The State First Round is an 18-hole test held at three locations that divide up the state’s golf teams by geographic area. In addition to Monday’s round for Regions 9-12 at StoneCrest, Regions 1-4 played at Bardstown Country Club and Regions 5-8 played at Kenton County Golf Course.
The Eagles will be one of the favorites next week. Against a field of top teams earlier this month at the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association All State Championships, LCA held an 18 stroke lead after its first round on Sept. 12, at the University Club Golf Course in Lexington.
But miscues in the second round allowed Sacred Heart to rally for a one-stroke team victory at the all-star event even though Dunn won the individual title there.
Soale is confident his team will learn from their All State mistakes and play their best golf in Bowling Green, which is also a two-round test.
“We still had a shot (at All State) even though we played really, really poorly,” Soale said. “It was nice to see the girls still try to grind it out and try to come back and win. So, it will make us better for state, here. I know that.”
Girls State First Round Golf Tournament
At Stonecrest Golf Course, Prestonsburg (Par 70), Tuesday.
Satellite State First Round For Regions 9-12. Top three teams and top 10 individuals outside those teams qualify for next week’s State Final Round Championships in Bowling Green. Full results at KHSAA.org.
State Final Round individual top finishes, including state qualifiers: 1. Parker Haddix, Lexington Catholic, -4; T2. Willa Borough, Frederick Douglass, -1; T2. Piper Dunn, Lexington Christian, -1; 4. Caroline Lankford, Lexington Christian, E; T5. Mary Clayton Rodgers, Franklin County, +2; T5. Grace Soale, Lexington Christian, +2; T7. Makena Myatt, Corbin, +4; T7. Rosie Patterson, Madison Central, +4; T9. Emerson Bowling, Franklin County, +5; T9. Abby Reagan, Wayne County, +5; 11. Elin Fritz, Madison Central, +6; T12. Ava Carroll, Lexington Catholic, +8; T12. Abigail Cane, Woodford County, +8; T12. Elle Chamberland, Lexington Christian, +8; T15. Kalyn Watkins, Corbin, +9; T15. Candice Tanmas, Frederick Douglass, +9; T15. Ella Baker, Madison Central, +9; T15. Avery Almy, Lexington Christian, +9; T19. Emma Jane Phillips, Somerset Christian, +10; T19. Raegan New, Pulaski County, +10; T21. Lyla Hardesty, Franklin County, +12; T21. Kortlyn Wheeler, Johnson Central, +12; T23. Alyssa Siler, South Laurel, +13; T23. Lilly Smith, Clay County, +13; T23. Ellie Fightmaster, Lexington Catholic, +13.
Team standings (top three teams advance): 1. Lexington Christian, +9 (Piper Dunn, -1; Caroline Lankford, E; Grace Soale, +2; Elle Chamberland. +8; Avery Almy, +9); 2. Madison Central, +33 (Rosie Patterson, +4; Elin Fritz, ,+6; Ella Baker, +9; Josie Brandenburg, +14; Elle Brumley +19); 3. Corbin, +73 (Makena Myatt, +4; Kalyn Watkins, +9; Kylie Cuel, +28; Brooke Kfoury, +32; Paige Kfoury, +33); 4. South Laurel, +94; 5. Ashland Blazer, +108; 6. Mason County, +121; 7. Johnson Central, +123; 8. Letcher County, +180.
Region 9 Girls Golf Championships
At The Woodford Club, Versailles (Par 72), Sept. 21.
Top two teams and top 10 qualifiers outside of those teams qualified for State First Round. Team scores include the top four players. *Result decided in playoff.
Medalists: 1. Grace Soale, Lexington Christian, 71*; 2. Piper Dunn, Lexington Christian, 71; 3. Rosie Patterson, Madison Central, 72; 4. Avery Almy, Lexington Christian, 74; 5. Willa Borough, Frederick Douglass, 74; 6. Emerson Bowling, Franklin County, 74; 7. Elin Fritz, Madison Central, 75; 8. Candice Tanmas, Frederick Douglass, 76; 9. Mary Clayton Rodgers, Franklin County, 77; 10. Caroline Lankford, Lexington Christian, 78.
Top teams: 1. Lexington Christian, 294 (Soale, 71; Dunn, 71; Almy, 74; Lankford, 78; Elle Champerland, 80); 2. Madison Central, 319 (Patterson, 72; Fritz, 75; Josie Brandenberg, 84; Ella Baker, 88; Elle Brumley, 90); 3. Franklin County, 331; 4. Frederick Douglass, 337; 5. Woodford County, 341.
Other state qualifiers: Parker Haddix, Lexington Catholic, 80; Shelby Fields, Model, 81; Abigail Caine, Woodford County, 81; Ava Carroll, Lexington Catholic, 82; Ellie Fightmaster, Lexington Catholic, 83; Lyla Hardesty, Franklin County, 85..