Cox Mill golfer, Ardrey Kell team aim at state championships

A superb sophomore from Cabarrus County and a strong team from Mecklenburg County will be aiming for championships Monday and Tuesday in the annual N.C. High School Athletic Association girls’ golf tournaments in Moore County.

Top finishers in last week’s regional tournaments have advanced to the state events, which will have 36-hole formats.

The 4A tournament is set for Pinehurst No. 5, with the 3A event at Foxfire Resort’s Gray course in Jackson Springs; and the 1A-2A tournament at Longleaf Golf and Family Club in Southern Pines.

Among the favorites in 4A will be Cox Mill sophomore Sophie Lauture and the Ardrey Kell team.

Each won the 4A West Regional tournament last Monday at Stonebridge Golf Club in Union County.

Lauture, one of the top-ranked junior golfers in the state, shot a remarkable 7-under-par 65 at Stonebridge. She finished six strokes ahead of runner-up Elizabeth Rudisill, a freshman from Myers Park.

Young players dominated the Western Regional, as the highest-finishing senior was Cox Mill’s Kennedy Brady, who was tied for seventh.

Ardrey Kell was the team champion, with a 6-over-par score of 222.

Lauture actually will have a chance to win both individual and team honors, as her Cox Mill team also has qualified for the state tournament.

The top three teams from each regional qualified for the state event. Also qualifying were the top 17 individual golfers who are not members of a top-three team.

The three Western 4A Regional qualifiers for the state tournament were Ardrey Kell, Weddington and Cox Mill. Ardrey Kell’s three scorers were sophomore Nicole Nash (third with a 72), junior Shea Smith (sixth with a 74), and sophomore Emma Miller (tied for ninth at 76).

Here are some of the Charlotte-area golfers playing in the state tournaments this week:

Class 4A

Western Regional

Teams: Ardrey Kell (Nicole Nash, Shea Smith, Emma Miller); Weddington (Jasmine Young, Melissa Wyman, Madi Wallace); Cox Mill (Sophie Lauture, Kennedy Brady, Kenna Nelson).

Top area individual qualifiers: Elizabeth Rudisill (Myers Park); Isabel Noot (Marvin Ridge); Adamma Anukwuem (South Iredell); Maddie Magner (South Mecklenburg); Kate Dunn (Charlotte Catholic); Helena Winterberg (Hickory Ridge); Cailynn Winford (Mooresville); Ellen Pritchard (Myers Park); Annika Kullstam (Hopewell); Bridget Sullivan (Marvin Ridge).

Class 3A

Western Regional

Teams: East Rowan (Emma Callahan, Hannah Waddell, Addison Queen); Hibriten (Trinity White, Virginia Anders, Zoey Walker); North Lincoln (Reagann Smith, Adeline Todd, Haley Klein).

Top area individual qualifiers: Tess Palmer (Lake Norman Charter); Grace Van Patten (Statesville); Jade Corlew (West Charlotte); Amelia Connor (South Point); Allie MacArthur (Crest); Georgia Chapman (Lake Norman Charter); Cheryl Darr (Northwest Guilford).

Central Regional

Teams: Rockingham County; Oak Grove; Union Pines.

Top area individual qualifiers: Ariel Quiroa (Parkwood)

Class 1A-2A

Western Regional

Teams: Pine Lake Prep (Carolina Johnson, Kate Wood, Lexie Moyer); Newton-Conover (Sondra Uon, Celeste Little, Hailey Hicks); Hendersonville.

Top area individual qualifiers: Malerie Lague (Christ the King); Allie Witherspoon (Patton); Reese Coltrane (West Lincoln); Emily Rosenchein (Bradford Prep); Katie Reibel (Patton); Brooke Beddingfield (West Lincoln); Sarah Rothrock (Chase).

Central Regional

Teams: Gray Stone Day (Katelynn Griggs, Hannah Lineberry, Allison Frey); West Stanly (Ashlyn Hughes, Lily Whitten, Alex Stabler); Union Academy (Marissa Matthews, Emma Bretz, Elizabeth Bretz).

Raleigh area

Here are some of the Raleigh-area golfers playing in the state tournaments this week:

Class 4A

Central Regional

Teams: Reagan; West Forsyth; Holly Springs (Maria Atwood, Kiranpreet Kaur, Kelsey Jones).

Top area individual qualifiers: Emerson Dever (Jordan); Justine Pennycooke (Green Hope); Tyler Spriggs (Green Hope); Ava Heaton (Green Level).

East Regional

Teams: Cardinal Gibbons (Ella Perna, Katherine Brictson, Ann Lattie Jackson); Hoggard; Millbrook (Sloane Spessard, Nadeen Elkassem, Lydia Terdik).

Top area individual qualifiers: Heather Appelson (Heritage); Terra Schmitt (Wakefield); Addison Reid (Clayton); Crystal Robertson (Cleveland); Sadler Miller (Corinth Holders).

Class 3A

Eastern Regional

Teams: Fike; Cape Fear; South Central.

Top area individual qualifiers: Lainey Edwards (South Johnston).

Class 1A-2A

Eastern Regional

Teams: Raleigh Charter (Lily Rowe; Julia Greene, Allison Song); N.C. School of Science and Math (Lily Smith, Sarah Kenny, Kendal Win); East Wake Academy (Trista Pope, Sarah Howell, Madison Wall).

Top area individual qualifiers: Jiya Patel (Research Triangle); Sofia Gonzalez (Franklin Academy); Elise Teddy Taylor (Woods Charter); Emily Krueger (Franklin Academy); Ashton Huddleston (North Johnston).

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle