By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – For only the sixth time in tournament history, the IHSAA state finals will be conducted at a different venue. There’s a lot of teams that should be excited about the change, including Bedford North Lawrence as it prepares for its fifth consecutive trip to the final stage of the state tournament series.
Prairie View, which hosted the two rounds of the state championship for the last 12 years, can be an unforgiving, vicious beast. BNL’s scores and finishes the last four years are evidence of that course’s toughness. Now the battle will shift to unfamiliar ground.
BNL, fresh from a sectional title and a third-place finish in the regional, will journey to Battle Ground, named for the famous Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, for Friday’s first round. The move was necessary when August flooding at Prairie View forced the IHSAA to quickly find a new home for the event.
The Stars professed love for the former site, even though their scorecards from the past were littered with big numbers. Somebody’s prayers or rain dance worked. Now it’s a new day, without the intimidation of the layout.
“It’s a little bit of mixed emotions,” said BNL coach Carly Stigall, who was honored as the region Coach of the Year. “I love Prairie View, we just mentally make it hard. A new course will open up the field a little bit. It’s seems to be a little more ‘golfer friendly.’ So I’m excited to see what we do out there.”
BNL is making its 13th state appearance, which ranks 20th in state history, with six Top 10s. The last four times, the Stars have finished 15th, 14th, 16th and 17th in the 18-team field.
“My goal is to not come in dead last,” Stigall said. “There’s a lot of really good teams there. Every shot matters. I want to play better than we did last year and see where that places us. It will be different strategy, with less target-oriented golf. It’s a little more open, but that doesn’t mean we can risk it all. That will get us in trouble.“
BNL senior Sammie Nusbaum is joining elite company, making her fourth straight trip to the finals. She finished third in the regional last week at Hulman Links.
“I’m excited,” Nusbaum said. “I feel like I played well at Prairie View, it’s just the greens were tricky. Going to a new course will be a little questionable, you never know what the course will bring. Everything is a different game up there. The state is a whole new game. We’re playing with new people, but in reality we’ve proven we should be here.“
BNL does have state experience with junior Emma Voris plus seniors Bella Warren and Kadynn Canada. Only freshman Bella Montgomery is journeying into uncharted territory.
“Watching them continue this is great,” Stigall said. “I hope it brings confidence in their game, knowing they’ve come this far with it. We want to make it six in a row next year and 15 sectional championships. I hope this motivates them.
“It’s the same keys – making the corrections, applying them, and playing with confidence. We’re playing with the big dogs, we can’t let them see us shake. We have to be steady and know we’re good enough.”
BNL is scheduled to tee off between 9:50 and 10:30 a.m. on the 10th tee. With no cut after the first round, the Stars will compete in the final round on Saturday.
