Brunswick freshman Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble makes notable debut at girls golf showcase

AVON — The official start of the high school girls golf season is a week away, but incoming Brunswick freshman Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble introduced herself in a major way Monday at Avon Oaks Country Club. Gonzalez-Ribble fired a 4-under-par 68 to win medalist honors at the Ohio Girls Golf Foundation showcase event. She bested 2024 Roosevelt graduate Madolyn Kost by one stroke. The showcase was open to incoming freshmen and 2024 high school graduates. Gonzalez-Ribble, a highly touted freshman who has excelled on the junior circuit, birdied her first two holes in a team environment. "I was kind of pumped up to play in my first kind of school event," she said. "I can't wait to be part of a team and help my teammates. I feel like I'm going to have a lot of fun." The Blue Devils (347) took third place out of 12 teams, behind champion Magnificat (293) and runner-up Hudson (318). The Blue Streaks were led by Cammy Reed's even-par round, which placed her third. Emily Burling led the Explorers with a 74 to tie for sixth. Brunswick junior Jessica Buzinski (87) backed Gonzalez-Ribble, and sophomores Rylee Roth (92) and Teigan Dryer (100) rounded out the scoring. Gonzalez-Ribble jumped right in with her teammates, who she got to know while they practiced and played together outside of school last year. "I've known most of my teammates for about a year now, because I practiced with the high school team early on," Gonzalez-Ribble said. "I feel like I'm going to get to know them better and learn how to work with them more." Brunswick was the only Medina County school to send a full team, but sophomore Quinn Malarkey (83) represented Cloverleaf and junior Corinne Christeon (93), senior Morgan Deeringer (98) and freshman Lily Zimmerman (104) represented Medina. After carding bogeys on seven of her first eight holes, Malarkey finished with seven pars on her last 10. "I got better as the round went on, definitely," she said. "My putting started off a little rough. I made a lot of bogeys at the beginning, but then I made a lot more pars to make up for it at the end." The day began with a series of clinics on bunker play, rules and course management. Malarkey, who said she was strong off the tee, found the one on bunkers to be particularly useful on this day. "I loved going through the bunker clinic, because I did need to work on my bunker shots," she said. "When I was in the bunker, I got out. That was nice." Christeon also found the bunker clinic insightful. She had six pars to lead the Medina contingent and fought off a triple bogey on her first hole, the 100-yard, par-3 12th. "It started out a little rough, but then I kicked it out of my head and kept going," Christeon said. "I feel like it kept getting better throughout the holes." Christeon is the only returning player from Medina's Brookledge Division I District-qualifying team and is looking forward to taking on more of a leadership role this season under new coach Laura Stauffenger. "I'm very excited to meet some of the new kids, because we've got some freshmen coming on," Christeon said. "I played with my sister (Camille) last year, so I can see how they led the team and take an example from that." Gonzalez-Ribble led the field with seven birdies while bogeying three holes. She found the chance to watch LPGA professionals Barb Mucha and Janice Moodie play two holes and hear their thought process insightful. "I loved watching the pros play the two holes," she said. "It was really fun to get to know what's inside the pros' mind and what they are thinking on every hole." Buzinski and Roth each had six pars and both birdied the 373-yard, par-5 18th. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results OGGF Showcase at par-72 Avon Oaks C.C. Standings: 1. Magnificat 293, 2. Hudson 318, 3. Brunswick 347, 4. St. Joseph Academy 352, 5. Edison 374, 6. Rocky River 387, 7. Avon 402, 8. Hudson 'B' 418, 9. Shaker Heights 425, 10. Lake Catholic 430, 11. Olmsted Falls 432, 12. Southern 471. Brunswick (347): Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble 68, Jess Buzinski 87, Rylee Roth 92, Teigan Dryer 100, Abbey Grudzinski 114. Medina (NS): Corinne Christeon 93, Lily Zimmerman 98, Morgan Deeringer 104. Cloverleaf (NS): Quinn Malarkey 83.