Girls golf places third of 14 in Rocky River Invitational

Avon’s girls golf team continued its successful season Wednesday as the Eagles continue to ramp things up for the postseason.

Playing in the fifth annual Rocky River Invitational at Big Met Golf Course, Avon placed third among 14 teams, finishing behind Brunswick and Keystone. The Eagles had a team total of 345 strokes, 11 behind the winners and five in back of the runners-up.

Avon was led by freshman Sedona Benedict with a score of 82, nine over par. She was backed by Jenavieve Plantner (83), Ella Sisto (89), Jocelyn England (91), Rylan Owens (94) and Wynter Delarm (96).

“Things went well,” said coach Aaron Millet. “We played pretty well as a team. They all were pretty consistent. I’ve got six girls who I can throw out there, and any one of them can score well on any given day, which is nice. But we are very much capable of playing better. From tee to green, we’re pretty good. But we tend to throw unnecessary shots away within 40 or 50 yards of the green. If we start cleaning that up, we’re going to be competitive with Brunswick and teams like that.”

Last year, Avon qualified to compete in the district tournament and if the Eagles hope to repeat as district qualifiers, Millet said they will need to get better around the greens.

“We just need to tighten up our short games a little bit,” he said. “We’re close, but we’re just not there yet. You know, 60 percent of the shots in golf are within 100 yards of the flag. We’ve got the first part of it down. When we get within 50 yards of the green, we’re not bad, but if you want to be elite, you’ve got to tighten that up.”

Last week Avon placed fourth in its own tournament using a lineup without a senior. At Big Met, Owens was the only senior competing for the Eagles, which bodes well for the future.

“Rylan is a senior, Ella’s a junior, and the rest of them are freshmen and sophomores, so we’re really young,” Millet said. “We’re still learning.”

As for the immediate future, Southwestern Conference championship will be held September 23 at Seneca Golf Course, and sectionals will take place the following week. It is possible that the Eagles will play at Big Met for their sectional, but that has yet to be determined.

“This year they’re having a tournament draw based on seeding,” Millet said. “There’s four sectional sites, and we could end up here. I think we’re the 11th seed right now, and there’s 90 teams in the district. But Big Met is one of the options, and that’s why we’re here. They’ve all played here a bunch. We played our preview here. But it’s nice to just come out and play it again and play 18 holes in a competitive round.”