Charleston’s Madeline Sanders battled through a three-hole playoff Monday against two other golfers to qualify for the state girls tournament.
Teammate Delaney Meister and Mattoon’s Blair Powers also qualified during the IHSA sectional tournament held at Lincoln’s Elk Golf Club.
Powers finished sixth overall after shooting a fairly even nine-hole split of 43-42 for an 85 and Meister carded a 91 to take the ninth qualifying spot after finishing 13th. The top 10 scores, excluding players on the top three teams that advanced to state, earn a qualifying berth.
“Delaney struggled on some holes, but she has the ability to work through her mistakes and keep trying her best,” Charleston coach Todd Keating said. “Her mental approach to the game served her well today, as it kept her in the running to advance. She drove the ball well, but the greens were tough for her today.”
Sanders finished her round on the 5,098-yard par-71 course at 92, tying her with Taylorville’s Sophia Robinson and Williamsville’s Zoey Beard for the final state qualifying spot.
Robinson was eliminated on the first playoff hole on the 312-yard par-4 No. 1 when she just missed her putt for bogey. After making their putts, Sanders and Beard next played the third hardest-rated hole on the course for the second playoff hole – the 380-yard, par-5 No. 6.
Sanders and Beard both drove long and were just short of the green after their second shots. Beard chipped to about 4 feet from the hole while Madeline chipped to within 6 feet. Both girls made their birdie putts.
This forced the playoff back to the first hole where both players reached the green in three strokes. Beard’s third stroke was a putt from the bunker, which left her about 8 feet from the hole. She two-putted for a bogey.
Sanders, though, sank a par putt from 4 feet to secure 10th place.
“It was a pleasure to watch,” Keating said. “Watching Madeline during the playoff was so satisfying because I remember her play as a freshman, and it amazes me how much her game has improved over these four years. Her calm demeanor and kindness towards other golfers will be sorely missed next year.”
Mattoon finished fourth, 10 strokes behind Effingham for the final team spot. The Green Wave had finished a stroke ahead of the Hearts to win last week’s regional title. Charleston was seventh with 420 strokes.
“The course was difficult, which resulted in higher scores than we expected,” Keating said. “This is primarily due to the greens being very quick.”
INDIVIDUAL (Top 20)
| PL | NAME | SCHOOL | SCORE |
| 1 | AINSLEY WINTERS | Mahomet | 79 |
| 21 | ADDIE KROUSE | St. Anthony | 81 |
| 22 | KAITLYN COOMBES | Paris | 81 |
| 43 | CATALINA EASLEY | Athens | 84 |
| 44 | ALAINA ERVIN | Pleasant Plains | 84 |
| 65 | BLAIR POWERS | Mattoon | 85 |
| 6 | BLAIR EFTINK | Quincy | 85 |
| 8 | HANA KNUFFMAN | Quincy | 86 |
| 96 | KILEY TORRES | Rochester | 87 |
| 9 | MARAH KIRK | Effingham | 87 |
| 117 | GRACE RECTOR | Waverly | 88 |
| 118 | ISABEL TOM | Rochester | 88 |
| 139 | DELANEY MEISTER | Charleston | 91 |
| 1410 | MADELINE SANDERS | Charleston | 92 |
| 1415 | SOPHIA ROBINSON | Taylorville | 92 |
| 1416 | ZOEY BEARD | Williamsville | 92 |
| 1717 | ELLA TUMAN | Effingham | 93 |
| 1718 | ISABELLE BOUDREAU | Quincy | 93 |
| 1719 | KAITLYN SEYMOUR | Rushville | 93 |
| 2020 | EMMA HALL | Tri-Valley | 94 |
| 2021 | MARLEY VAN HOVELN | Mattoon | 94 |
| 2022 | BROOKE HARTMAN | Mahomet | 94 |
| 2023 | JERSEY WEST | North Mac | 94 |
TEAM SCORES
| PL | SCHOOL | SCORE |
| 1 | Quincy Notre Dame | 360 |
| 2 | Mahomet-Seymour | 373 |
| 3 | Effingham | 376 |
| 4 | Mattoon | 386 |
| 5 | Rochester | 396 |
| 6 | Williamsville | 398 |
| 7 | Charleston | 420 |
| 8 | Mt. Zion | 426 |
| 9 | Tuscola | 429 |
| 10 | Paris | 433 |
| 11 | Pittsfield | 434 |
| 12 | PORTA | 457 |
Coles County Sports 