Girls golf: Highland, Brunswick's Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble claim sectional crowns

NORTH LAWRENCE — A move of sectional venues came to triumphant conclusions for the Highland girls golf team and Brunswick ace Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble on Monday. The Hornets shot 318 and won the Elms Division I Sectional on a fifth-player tiebreaker against Hoover. The sectional championship was Highland's sixth consecutive. "It's exciting (to win)," said senior Elizabeth Coleman, who shot a 72. "We were just talking about how every stroke matters. It's 18 holes and you're hitting however-many shots, but it really comes down to every single shot. "It means we can go into districts with a little bit of momentum from a win." Gonzalez-Ribble's sterling 2-under-par 70 beat Coleman and Hoover's Ellie Hutzler by two strokes. "I had a really hot start," Gonzalez-Ribble said. "I was 4 under through six, and my putting was on fire those first six holes. I'm glad that I had that good start to boost me up." The Blue Devils (328) finished third. Highland, Hoover, Brunswick and Massillon Jackson (352) also advanced to next week's district at The Tanglewood Club, another new venue. The Medina County representative most affected by the Hornets' and Blue Devils' inclusion in the deepest sectional with 20 teams was Cloverleaf junior Quinn Malarkey, who missed being an individual qualifier by two strokes with an 86. Without Brunswick and Highland taking two of the team spots, Malarkey likely would have reached districts for a second straight season despite finishing her last three holes double bogey, bogey, bogey. She birdied the 145-yard fourth and 320-yard 11th. The Colts (403) finished 15th. Medina (382) was ninth behind Corinne Christeon's 90, while Wadsworth (442) was 18th behind Jillian Jones' 99. Highland's victory came down to the final putt, as No. 5 player Allie Miller needed a bogey on the 320-yard No. 18 to force the tie. Miley Tylicki beat the Vikings' Gia Remark 91-95 on the fifth-score tiebreaker. The Hornets also go an 81 from Mirabella Shelton and an 83 from Kate Vickerman. "I probably shouldn't have looked (at the scoring app), but I knew going into (the last hole) I needed to bogey to tie or par it to win," Miller said. "When I missed the green (on my second shot), I told myself I need to two-putt. "That green is really hard, so I was really happy to two-putt." Miller birdied the 320-yard seventh and 225-yard 14th. Shelton birdied the 395-yard 13th and 416-yard No. 15 — both par 5s — and Vickerman's only birdie came on No. 13. Coleman birdied the 401-yard, par-5 third and No. 15 despite not being as stellar on the green as she usually is. She bogeyed the 150-yard second and 343-yard 10th. Coming off an individual state runner-up finish last season, Coleman has lofty goals. "It was a little bit of a battle out there today," Coleman said. "I was playing pretty well and hitting some good putts, but just about every good putt barely lipped (out) and missed the hole. That was kind of frustrating, because I felt like I should have been scoring better than I was." Gonzalez-Ribble couldn't miss with her putter early on, sinking birdie putts on the second, fourth, fifth and sixth to go to 4 under. She stayed there until bogeys on No. 10 and the final hole. "I was just pumped," Gonzalez-Ribble said of her start. "I just kept dropping putts. One (putt) was like a 30-footer, then I was hitting irons to like three feet. I was super confident in the beginning." Freshman Emma Gonzalez-Ribble backed her sister with an 82. She was particularly strong coming in with six pars on her final seven holes to finish 1 over for that stretch. Senior Jess Buzinski birdied the third hole on her way to an 87, while junior Rylee Roth rounded out Brunswick's contributing scores with an 89. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results at par-72 The Elms C.C. Standings (Top four teams qualify for Tanglewood District): 1. Highland 318, 2. North Canton Hoover 318, 3. Brunswick 328, 4. Massillon Jackson 352, 5. Uniontown Lake 353, 6. Green 364, 7. Canton GlenOak 379, 8. Massillon Perry 380, 9. Medina 382, 10. Archbishop Hoban 391, 11. Wooster 394, 12. Alliance Marlington 397, 13. Massillon 402, 14. Louisville 402, 15. Cloverleaf 403, 16. Alliance 421, 17. Copley 429, 18. Wadsworth 442, 19. Norton 455, 20. Field 539. Individual qualifiers to Tanglewood District: Audrey Goebelt (UL) 78, Brooke Shocklee (Gr) 80, Leah Dang (Gr) 84, Charlie Brophy (UL) 84. Highland (318) — Elizabeth Coleman 72, Mirabella Shelton 81, Allie Miller 82, Kate Vickerman 83, Miley Tylicki 91. Brunswick (328) — Elli Gonzalez-Ribble 70, Emma Gonzalez-Ribble 82, Jess Buzinski 87, Rylee Roth 89, Brianna Behrend 114. Medina (382) — Corinne Christeon 90, Lily Zimmerman 94, Marissa Nugent 99, Honor Hlavna 99, Rachel Coleman 104. Cloverleaf (403) — Quinn Malarkey 86, MacLaine Bell 90, Avrielle Dalton 110, Cameron Todd 117, Jaelynn Holmes 119. Wadsworth (442) — Jillian Jones 99, Caroline Kresowaty 113, Macy Tiger 113, Natalia Vujas 117, Michelle Witschey 118.