BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
The Lady Wolves finished in the top ten during the Oakland County Division 1 tournament last Wednesday and will use it as they prepare for the post-season.
The Clarkston Girls Varsity team finished in third place out of 19 teams with 325.
Meghan Deardorff finished in fourth place with a 72. Ashley Miles also finished in the top 25 Individuals, shooting an 82.
Claudia Sampson hit a 85 during the county meet; Zoey Puskar shot a 86; and Ilham Osman shot a 105. The team also includes Payton Greenlee, Lauren Hartline, Elizabeth Oda and Samantha Weber.
“Everybody is practicing really hard,” said Deardorff. “You can see improvements in each of the girls.”
All but one of the Lady Wolves on the team are returners which helped them through the regular season.
“They know what to expect,” said Coach Lezlie Hallman. “It’s very competitive and their scores show it. It’s not like other sports – if you have low scores then you are going to play. They really need to do their practicing. We can only play six during matches and some tournaments are five so you have four people sitting out.”
Highlights from the season include: finishing seventh place out of 22 teams at a tournament at Twin Lakes Golf Club with Deardorff finishing with a 79, Aug. 24. They also finished fifth out of 13 teams at Oak Pointe Country Club with Sampson shooting a 76, Aug. 29. They also defeated Lake Orion by six strokes in a dual meet at Oakhurst Golf Club.
Hallman added doing well in tournaments will help during the post-season.
“It gives them that drive to do well and a lot better,” she explained. “Also to work on the parts of golf they need to work on. They drive like nobody’s business but if your short game is bad, your mind game is, too. You can’t let a bad hole get you down. I am their pep squad. If it’s one hole of 18, don’t let it become two or three or four out of 18. You want to learn from your mistake and forge forward.”
The girls have their league meet this week and head to the MHSAA Regionals next week, where they will play to qualify for the state finals.
“Last year Meghan went to states,” said Hallman, “this year I would like to send more, even the whole team. It would be ideal.”
Deardorff added going to states helps her motivate her teammates.
“It was a fun learning experience and I would love to share that with my team,” she smiled. “It’s motivating because it was a fun accomplishment to be able to do. I would love to have the team go to states. I know they would enjoy it and I would enjoy having them there.”
The Lady Wolves head to Westwynd Golf Club for regionals on Oct. 6. They will play against Bloomfield Hills, Lake Orion, Lakeland, North Farmington, Oxford, Rochester Adams, Walled Lake Central, Walled Lake Northern, Waterford Kettering, Waterford Mott and West Bloomfield.

  clarkston, Varsity Girls Golf