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Milton golfers end strongly, Farrell finishes third

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Girls State Golf finals

Milton, which was in fourth place after the first round of the WIAA Division 1 girls state golf meet, had a terrific final round and surged into second place.

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MADISON — Stephanie Stair walked through the clubhouse at University Ridge late Tuesday afternoon.

The Milton High junior paused momentarily, then gave a thumbs-up to a friend.

There was plenty for Stair and Red Hawks to be thrilled about.

Milton, which was in fourth place after the first round of the WIAA Division 1 girls state golf meet, had a terrific final round and surged into second place. Stair had a big day herself, shooting a 4-over-par 76 and moved from fifth place to fourth.

“I think it was a great day, for me and the team,” Stair said. “I love this course … and it was good to us today.”

Mequon Homestead won the Division 1 team title with a 657, while Milton (682), DSHA (685), Oregon (690) and Notre Dame (692) rounded out the top five.

Waukesha junior Emily Joers won her second individual state title in three years with a two-day total of 146. Kettle Moraine’s Leighann Cabush and Stoughton’s Becky Klongland tied for second at 149, while Stair and Green Bay Preble’s Olivia Lindsley tied for fourth at 153.

“It was a great run,” Milton coach Andrea Wieland said. “I was a wreck, though. I was freaking out.”

In Division 2, Edgerton junior Brooke Ferrell was a model of composure and moved from fifth place at the start of the day into a tie for third at 156. Osceola junior Casey Danielson won her third straight title with a 142, while Madison Edgewood junior Lexi Greytak shot 155.

“I’m extremely happy,” said Ferrell, who was second here last year and fifth as a freshman. “You always feel like you could play better, but I’m very happy.”

With good reason.

Ferrell played the state tournament with her right wrist heavily wrapped. On Sept. 10, while playing in the Cardinal/Spartan Invitational at Middleton, she strained tendons in her wrist after smacking her club into the lip of bunker.

Ferrell played through the injury, but when it didn’t get better, she saw a chiropractor last week. The diagnosis was that only rest would make it better, and Ferrell wasn’t going to begin relaxing now.

“Never did it cross my mind to miss state,” she said. “Never.”

Still, Ferrell took plenty of ibuprofen the last two days. And on a scale of 1-to-10, Ferrell labeled her pain level at 7 on Monday and 8.5 Tuesday.

“I tried not to think about it or use it as an excuse,” she said. “But it really hurt.”

You wouldn’t have known it watching Ferrell.

Ferrell began her day on the back nine and struggled with two double bogeys, a triple bogey, and finished with a 41. But she steadied herself and fired a par 36 on the back nine when she surged to third.

“Now, I’ve got one more year and I’ll definitely have a chance (to win state),” said Ferrell, whose 79-77 rounds made her one of only three Division 2 players in this tournament to be below 80 both days. “I’ll need to be healthy. But I know I can come here and shoot in the 60s. That will be my goal next year.”

Madison Edgewood reach-ed its goal this year in returning to the top in team scoring. The Crusaders shot a 318-328—646, the best in either division, to win Division 2 by 45 strokes for the school’s 10th state championship in 11 years.

Milton also reached all of its goals—and exceeded many—in capturing second place in Division 1.

The Red Hawks entered the day 17 shots behind front-running Homestead and seven back of second-place DSHA. But on the front nine Tuesday, Milton tore it up.

Stair shot a 1-under-par 35, and at one point, crept within one-shot of individual leader Joers. Along the way, Stair drained a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 1 and knocked an 8-iron within a foot for birdie at No. 5.

“I couldn’t have started any better,” Stair said. “That was a lot of fun.”

Actually, all of the Red Hawks were having fun.

Junior Laura Stair, freshman Maddie McCue and senior Sarah Dorr all shot 41s on the front nine, and Milton’s 158 team score for the day vaulted it into the No. 2 spot overall.

“I really couldn’t believe it,” said Wieland, whose team had a low score of 335 this season. “Everybody was just playing great.”

Milton slipped to a 178 on the second nine, and with Homestead running away from the field, all eyes turned to the race for second place. Milton finished 45 minutes before DSHA, but held off the Dashers and earned a runner-up trophy for the second straight year.

In addition to Stephanie Stair’s 76, Laura Stair (82), McCue (84) and Dorr (94) all had terrific days.

“We couldn’t ask for anything more,” Stephanie Stair said. “To place as high as we did as a team, and for me to get fourth, that’s great.”