NorthWood’s Breanna Goss hits an iron off a water-logged fairway at Noble Hawk Golf Links during East Noble Regional play Monday. (Photos by James Costello)

KENDALLVILLE — NorthWood’s girls golf team has had to carry some lofty expectations this season.

Most have treated a state berth like a foregone conclusion for the record-breaking squad, which has hovered right around an eighth-place standing in the IHSGCA polls reaching all the way back into the preseason. Those expectations might sometimes feel heavy, but they haven’t been anything the Lady Panthers haven’t yet been able to shoulder.

There were some hiccups after a fog delay at an East Noble Regional that was already pushed back from Saturday to Monday due to heavy rains throughout the area, but NorthWood’s golfers steadied themselves after the turn at Noble Hawk Golf Links, carding a 324 to prove the Panther faithful right with a runner-up finish Monday behind meet-champion Homestead’s 282 and ahead of third-place Penn’s 333.

“This team is just so great. We bond well together. We’ve known each other forever,” said ‘Wood top flighter Cybil Stillson. “I know we’ve had high expectations coming in, and we’ve definitely had to keep focused and stay humble because everyone has just treated us like ‘You know you guys are going to state’ from the first day of practice. So we definitely had to just stay humble and stay focused on getting it done.”

“I think getting off to not the best start the first few holes got to the girls a little bit. We didn’t handle ourselves on the first nine as well as we could’ve. I think we shot 167 on the first nine, but then to come back and shoot 10 strokes lower on the next nine — I think we shot 157 — says a lot about their character and their grit,” explained NorthWood head coach Adam Yoder. “They definitely needed a few kicks in the pants at the turn. Cybil didn’t, but the rest of them kind of needed to step it up a little bit. And they did. They all did.”

Stillson never needed any extra motivation from her coach on the way to a program-first regional low medal.

The sophomore phenom opened her round with birdies on 10 and 11 and hit the turn at 1 under. After managing the tight confines of the back nine in challenging conditions at Noble Hawk, Stillson was able to capitalize on her ball striking on the longer front, birdying holes 3 through 6 on the way to a 2-under-par tally. All told, she finished with six birdies and a 3-under 67, not only a personal best but also a program record for NorthWood.

Cybil Stillson places her ball and reads her line Monday.

“Just an outstanding round. She’s worked really hard,” said Yoder. “It’s great to see her accomplish winning the regional, especially this regional with all the girls from Homestead and Penn and Northridge and all the other girls on the leaderboard. It’s quite the accomplishment.”

“This whole summer I’ve basically been practicing for this day,” Stillson said. “I have just such a great team — I have a short game coach, a swing coach, a course management coach, and they all are just so great. I’m so thankful for all of them and they just helped me get it done today, and I can’t be more excited for how I did.”

While Stillson thrived in the soggy, muggy conditions at the links-style course — which saw standing water on the fairways and in deep puddles in the bunkers — making them unplayable — the slow play and the adjustments it precipitated Monday clearly got to much of the field, even the Panthers.

Kirsten Schrock carded 83 for the round, Breanna Goss and Delaney Davis turned in dual 87s, and Makenna Gall’s 92 was the team’s fifth score. NorthWood’s 324 represented an uptick of eight strokes from their sectional record-breaking round of 316 a little more than a week prior at Stonehenge.

“You’re hitting two or three longer clubs than you would on every hole out here,” said Yoder of his players’ adjustments. “This course usually plays pretty hard and fast, where today it played pretty slow. It was a slow round, the course was really wet, and they did a great job here of getting everything ready to play. There’s nothing they could do. The weather is out of control.”

Wawasee’s Tate Cowan follows through on a long putt.

Wawasee carded a 362 at regional, finishing in eighth place in the 18-team field. Belle Brunner fired a 79 and finished heartbreakingly short of one of five individual state berths, Northridge’s Ashley Brewster and her 78 bumping a four-way tie for fifth into sixth place as the last few scores trickled in Monday. Tate Cowan shot 92 followed closely by Jadison Rostochak’s 92, Taylor Cripe carded 100, and Valerie Haessig shot 103 as the Warriors closed out a strong season that saw them advance to regional a second straight season.

Warsaw’s young team put up a 390 in the adverse conditions, placing 14th in the standings. Grayson Kilburn shot 89, and Marie Frazzetta turned in a 92 as the only two Tigers to break the century mark. Sydney Lancaster finished right at 100, Delayney Byron shot 109, and Brooklyn Fitzgerald finished in 116.

“It was a tough day. It was tough to practice this weekend with the weather, but on the back nine they did a good job. That was kind of our MO this year — we get off to a slow starts and then on the back nine start to kick it in a little bit,” said Warsaw coach Tad Nieter.

Still, the regional round was good experience for a young Warsaw squad that will lose just one of its top five to graduation in senior Kilburn.

Warsaw’s Marie Frazzetta putts at Noble Hawk.

“I brought two of our eighth graders today to experience it because they have a shot at some varsity time next year. It was good experience for them to get past sectionals and then on to regionals. It’s great to see three of the best teams in the state here, and for them to watch that is cool,” Nieter said.

Homestead won the championship boosted by not one but two 1-under-par 69 scores from Morgan Dabagia and Simone Senk. Madison Dabagia’s 73 was the worst of the team’s top four scores.

Bishop Luers’ 68 netted her the first of the five individual state berths reserved for individuals from non-advancing teams. Lakeland’s Madison Keil (75), Hannah Godfrey (76) of West Noble, Kaitlyn Hoag (77) of Columbia City and Brewster earned the other four appointments.

The IHSAA State Finals will take place Friday and Saturday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. Both rounds are scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. The Panthers will be making their fourth-ever and second straight appearance at the big meet.

NorthWood earned a second straight state berth with their regional runner-up finish.