Oct. 4—EXETER — Gwen Powell had a goal to win a fourth straight district title.
Mission accomplished.
The North Pocono senior carded matching 35s on the front and back nines to finish with an even-par 70 and again rule Class 3A at the District 2 Individual Girls Golf Championships on Tuesday at Fox Hill Country Club.
Powell won by eight shots over Tunkhannock’s Hallie Brown, who placed second with 78. North Pocono’s Lyla Jones was third with 82.
In Class 2A, Anna Zapletalova from Wyoming Seminary won the title with a 77. Lillian Sedlak of Mountain View was second with 86 and Holy Redeemer’s Arden Brunn was third with 88.
The top three in both classes qualify for the PIAA Championships on Oct. 16-17 at Penn State University. Class 2A will play the White Course and Class 3A the Blue Course.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be able to do it four straight years,” Powell said. “Especially it being my senior year. Having those three under my belt, I wanted to add another one. I’m very happy and very proud of my progress throughout the years and being able to stick with it.”
Starting her round on No. 8, Powell actually opened with a bogey. She parred No. 9, then was buoyed by a par on No. 10.
“That pin placement was crazy,” Powell said. “It was kind of on a hill and you had to land it perfectly. I kind of landed it where it rolled off to the left side right between the fringe and the green. It was a little weird. I hit the putt short, then I made a nice six-foot putt for par. That kind of gave me a little confidence, especially with the tough pin placement. I was just glad to get out of there with a par and I just kind of kept going.”
Following two more pars, Powell had a birdie on No. 13 and an eagle on No. 14. She sandwiched bogeys on Nos. 15 and 1 around pars on Nos. 16, 17 and 18. Over her final six holes, she had three birdies — including her final two holes (Nos. 6 and 7) — to cap her round and another district championship in style.
“A solid round overall,” Powell said. “I had a lot of good little five-footers that I made throughout the round, so I had some good par saves. I had an eagle on the second par-5 on the back, so that helped boost me a little bit. I had a couple of hiccups, those little mistakes. But overall I’m very happy.”
She also was excited that her teammate, Jones, will accompany her to states. Plus, North Pocono captured the Class 3A district title last week and will compete in the PIAA Team Championships on Oct. 18 at Penn State.
“I’m so proud of her and her progress throughout the year,” Powell said. “It’s an honor to have two players from North Pocono going and to post up two great scores, too. And I can’t wait to go as a whole team on the third day.”
Jones started on No. 4 and shot 41 on both the front and back nines.
“Right off the bat, I had a par and was very consistent all day,” Jones said. “I was really nervous (the last few holes). I was shaking on my putts. I just told myself, ‘One hole at a time’ and took some deep breaths.
“I’m very excited to be going to states. This is what I’ve been working hard for,” Jones said. “It definitely means a lot to be going with Gwen, too. I’m so proud of her and I’m glad that I’m on a team with her.”
Class 2A
Sedlak started on No. 7 and wasn’t doing anything really special during her round.
“I didn’t make any birdies or have any eagles that would help me bring my score down,” Sedlak said. “I struggled a little bit with putting.
“But when I had four holes left, I just told myself that I need to buckle down and par the next four holes.”
She did just that, parring Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 to wind up second.
It was the par on No. 3 that set the tone.
“I left my (birdie) putt short and I told myself I need it to make par,” Sedlak said. “I made an eight-foot breaker putt and then I had the confidence from then on to keep pushing. It helped me hit some smoother, straighter, cleaner shots (over the last three holes).
“This was everything I had in mind when I was practicing all summer. I said senior year I want to make it to states and I worked really hard this summer to be able to make it.”
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