Aubrey Schmeltz earned medalist honors for Thursday’s triangular with Whitko and Concord. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

NORTH MANCHESTER — Mother Nature turned the heat up Thursday as Whitko hosted Concord and Wawasee for a triangular girls golf match  The Minutemen shot a 192 to beat Wawasee’s 211 while Whitko only had three players and could not post a team score on the lengthy back nine of Sycamore Golf Club.

“I think the biggest thing for our girls to take away is that now they know what needs to be done,” posed Whitko head coach Mike Hanback. Thursday’s match was the first of the year for the Wildcats. “They’ve practiced, they’ve been out in a match, now they can look at their game and know what to fix going into the rest of the year.”

Whitko was paced by Holly Hathaway’s 61. Hathaway’s round was highlighted by a par on 13. Bailey Wright recorded a 68 in the No. 3 spot for the Wildcats while Makayla Compton signed for a 71.

“I didn’t see our girls get down on themselves today, that’s definitely a positive,” Hanback said. “I told the girls to make a goal for themselves before they went out and all three of them accomplished their individual goal today.”

Wawasee, which took seventh at an invite on Wednesday, improved by three strokes from its last dual match score. Aubrey Schmeltz earned medalist honors for the match with her 43, highlighted by four pars. Madison Beaman shot a 51, earning a par on 10. Zoe White had a solid round with a 57 while Jadison Rostochak and Kabrea Rostochak rounded out the team’s score with a 60 and 69, respectively.

“There’s things I’m encouraged about,” began Wawasee head coach Steve Coverstone. “Jadison got into a real good streak to start out today. That shows her potential as a golfer. Kabrea improved from a 78 to a 69, which is great. Aubrey played well with a 43 and Zoe played really well. Madison had an off day, we’re waiting for her to get back into her groove, and it will come.”

Erika Shirley paced Concord with a 45. Elise Boessler and Lauren Boessler were close behind with a 46 and 47, respectively. Maddy Huxford (54) and Camryn Cramer (55) rounded out the scores for the Minutemen.

Wawasee (1-2) is scheduled to play at LaVille Tuesday night while Whitko will have another triangular with Triton and North Miami at Rozella Ford Golf Club in Warsaw.