New Palestine High School

The New Palestine golf team had a strong day Saturday to finish 15th at the IHSAA State Finals at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. Freshman Lauren Deering shot 79 Saturday - including birdies on the 17th and 18th holes as the Dragons played the back nine first - to lead the Dragons. Her 81 was 36th-best round among the 105 golfers who played Saturday and was 14 strokes better than her score from Round 1. Deering also had eight pars to go along with her back-to-back birdies. She finished with a two-round score of 176, placing her 62nd overall. Sophomore Katie Kelley also bettered her score from Friday, shooting an 86 - including a 40 on her last nine - to finish with a two-day total of 182. She had a birdie on the par-3 12th hole and five pars on her last nine. She improved by 10 strokes over her first-round score. Junior Lily Kirchner shot 199 over two days. After a 94 on Friday led the team, she shot 105 Saturday. Senior Lauren Appleby finished with a two-day score of 200, with a 102 on Saturday. Senior Hanna Beller shot 112 on Saturday and 213 for the two days. As a team, the Dragons shot 757 to finish 15th in the 18-team State Finals, improving by two places from Friday. They shot 374 on Saturday after a 383 on Friday. The Dragons were five strokes ahead of Jasper and eight ahead of Terre Haute South, the two teams they passed in the standings Saturday. Carmel won the state title with a team score of 608, defeating Westfield by nine strokes. Westfield's Samantha Brown won the individual title with a two-under-par 142. The Dragons finished an outstanding season with their first State Finals berth in nine years after winning the Hancock County, Hoosier Heritage Conference and New Palestine sectional championships. They finished third in the regional to advance to the State Finals.