Girls State Golf Tournament Results

Toole Qualified for Final Day

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Ellie Rowland (left) and junior KJ Toole golfed in the girls state tournament Friday. Toole is the first Highlands girls golfer to make it to the second day of the state tournament since 2010. The two also made the state tournament last year.

Highlands senior Ellie Rowland and junior KJ Toole ventured to the state tournament at the Bowling Green Country Club hoping to make it to the second and final day of the event.

Toole shot an 84 on the 18-hole par 72 course to tie for 48th out of 143 total golfers to make it to that final day. But Rowland did not make the cut shooting 98 to tie for 113th.

Toole finished tied for 58th shooting an 88 on the second day for a two-day total of 172. Apollo's Macey Brown won the individual state championship beating Madison Central's Elizabeth Eberle in a playoff after the two tied for first shooting 145s.

"Our girls represented Highlands well at the state tournament," said Mike Lipscomb, Highlands Head Coach. "Though they may not have finished the season with the scores they wanted, they didn't quit. They stayed focused on a very challenging course with very thick rough and super fast greens. I couldn't be prouder of Ellie and KJ."

Toole became the first Highlands girls golfer to make it to the second day of the state tournament since Lauren Harrett-Thornton did it in 2010. Players not on teams that qualified for state had to shoot 87 or lower to make the cut.

"My state game this year was not originally what I had in mind," Toole said. "My game was off, but I was able to familiarize myself with the course further, which will hopefully pay off senior year."

The duo made it to state individually last year. But neither made the cut for the second day. Rowland and Toole were the first Highlands golfers to make it to state since Alexis Begnoche in 2014. Begnoche did not make it past the first day.

Highlands last qualified for state as a team in 2006 as Region 6 runner-up. Members of that team were Bridget Neal, Shelbye Harris-Schweinhart, Katie Meyer, Madison McGhee-Soller and Kelly Borman-DiCiero. The team did not make it to the second day of the tournament. But Borman-DiCiero qualified for the second day individually.

Marshall County claimed the team state championship shooting 619. Cooper finished fifth shooting 678 and 8th Region champion Grant county tied for seventh at 720.