For the first time since 2019, a new team is atop the leaderboard in the girls 7th Region golf tournament.
With Cooper graduating four of their top five from a season ago, it finally opened things up for the rest and Ryle busted through that door on Tuesday at The Golf Courses at Kenton County Pioneer Course.
The Raiders shot 325 as a team and dominated the field, winning by 36 strokes over second place Notre Dame. The two will now advance to the first round of the state tournament on Oct. 1 at Shelbyville Country Club.
“Everybody showed up today. I’m so proud of the girls. This was our goal this year,” Raiders coach Jumpei Okuda said. “They stick together as a team, really like each other and pick each other up.”
Ryle was paced by Anika Okuda with a one-over 71, finishing runner-up for the second straight season. Ryle’s day consisted of their five scoring in the top 15. The program has made leaps and bounds from where they were in the 2021 when they shot 420 at the region tournament. The 180 was apparent on Tuesday when they shaved 95 strokes off that score.
“It’s a huge improvement,” Okuda said. “It didn’t happen overnight, but we believed in these girls. They had the skills and the drive. When I took over, I just wanted to give the girls an opportunity, opportunity to practice and provide them places to play. Golf is expensive, so my goal was to raise enough money to provide these girls opportunities. Very thankful for all the people involved with that.”
Following Okuda for the Raiders was Lacey Wilson (80) tied for fourth, Elizabeth Dickson (83) tied for eighth, Nikaia Cornett (90) tied for 13th and Morgan Poe (91) tied for 15th.
While Cooper isn’t the top dog anymore, Reagan Ramage still is. The Jaguars senior won her fifth straight region title as she made light work of the course, shooting a seven-under 64 and winning by eight strokes. Ramage’s standards are set high, the WKU commit said before the round she was gunning for a 63.
“Everything was clicking today,” Ramage said. “It was a bogey free round and I don’t have many of those. There’s been times over the season where one part of my game would click and would help me shoot really good scores. But I was really looking for that day where everything came together and today was that day.”
The victory marks the seventh win in tournament play this season for Ramage. Now she’ll set her eyes on the first round of state in order to advance to Bowling Green for the final two rounds of the state tournament.
“I’ve struggled with my mental game and keeping a level head. Recently it’s been starting to click knowing this is my last high school golf season and I need to enjoy it,” Ramage said. “Enjoy the walk, look at the clouds, look at the trees instead of being so focused on shooting good scores and having fun with my friends. This is some of the last times I’ll be playing with them.”
Ramage and nine other individuals not on Ryle or Notre Dame also advance to the first round of the state tournament next week. They are: Conner’s Sofia Seals (80), Dixie Heights’ Tatjana Andracenko (80) and Addyson St. John (82), St. Henry’s Carly Apgar (83), Walton-Verona’s Addison Vonhandorf (85), St. Henry’s Alexis Fassbender (87), Beechwood’s Ellie Stamm (87), Walton-Verona’s Ava Klips (91), St. Henry’s Taylor Walsh (93) and Boone County’s Jayden Ramler (94).
Perhaps the most drama on the day came down to the final individual qualifying spot. Ramler won a tie breaker over Conner’s Kendal Ramey with a 25-foot putt off the fringe on the playoff hole.
Notre Dame’s 361 was eight shots clear of third-place St. Henry to extend their season into the first round of the state tournament.
The Pandas were led by Didi Jiradamkerng in third place with a 75. What led the Pandas to qualify was a nice round from their No. 5 golfer, Caroline Bohman finishing with a 90 and putting her in a tie for 12th. Leah Hiskey (97), Riley Pope (99) and Teagan Kruer (105) rounded out the Pandas scoring.
“Caroline had her personal best, Didi had another great round,” Pandas assistant coach Anna McCord said, filling in for an ill Karen Henderson and unable to attend. “We just talked about the mental game with the girls. The girls are excited to advance.”
TEAM SCORING (*TOP TWO TEAMS QUALIFY FOR STATE 1ST ROUND)
Ryle — 325
Notre Dame — 361
St. Henry — 369
Dixie Heights — 375
Beechwood — 388
Walton-Verona — 394
Cooper — 395
Conner — 409
Scott — 492
Holy Cross — 605
INDIVIDUAL TOP 20 SCORING (*TOP 10 NOT ON RYLE OR NOTRE DAME QUALIFY FOR STATE 1ST ROUND)
*Reagan Ramage, Cooper — 64
Anika Okuda, Ryle — 72
Didi Jiradamkerng, Notre Dame — 75
Lacey Wilson, Ryle — 80
*Sofia Seals, Conner — 80
*Tatjana Andracenko, Dixie Heights — 80
*Addyson St. John, Dixie Heights — 82
*Carly Apgar, St. Henry — 83
Elizabeth Dickson, Ryle — 83
*Addison Vonhandorf, Walton-Verona — 85
*Alexis Fassbender, St. Henry — 87
*Ellie Stamm, Beechwood — 87
Nikaia Cornett, Ryle — 90
Caroline Bohman, Notre Dame — 90
*Ava Klips, Walton-Verona — 91
Morgan Poe, Ryle — 91
*Taylor Walsh, St. Henry — 93
*Kendal Ramey, Conner — 94
Jayden Ramler, Boone County — 94 (Alternate)
Leah Hiskey, Notre Dame — 97
Complete scoring below:
