Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

The Western Boone girls golf team weathered the elements on Saturday to win their fourth-straight sectional title. The Stars shot a 353, besting second place North Montgomery by 37 shots. Southmont also advanced, shooting a 408. "It's always good to win a sectional," Western Boone head coach Jason Smith said. "The weather and everything was kind of a damper on the day with a two-hour delay in the middle, but the girls persevered and had some really good scores on the back nine when we got back out there." The Stars were still finishing the front-nine when the horn went off for lightning in the area. They were forced inside the clubhouse for two hours until the weather passed. Smith said he was happy with how the squad handled the break, and didn't let it affect them. "We kept it pretty relaxed, playing cards and watching TV," Smith said. "Immediately afterwards, Ally went birdie-birdie, and I think overall it was nice to keep it relaxed and calm and not stress out about playing in the sectional." Ally Lewis set a Western Boone individual scoring record, shooting a 1-over 73. She was a little disappointed in doubling the final hole to cost her an under-par round, but the 73 was still good enough to be eight shots better than any of her competitors. "She didn't hit the ball that great today, but she scrambled her butt off," Smith said. "She hit some really good 10-15 footers all day to keep it in that low score. She's going to be disappointed by the end, but the great news is this is where the regional is and she has a chance to redeem herself." Lewis became the first-ever Western Boone golfer to qualify for the State Finals last year, placing 26th overall. Another round like Saturday will give her an excellent chance to qualify again. Lewis was joined on the individual podium by teammates Jada Scott and Lexi Gregg, who placed third and fourth overall with scores of 90 and 93. "They would both probably say it wasn't their best, but they found a way," Smith said. "They avoided the huge numbers. There were some bogeys and doubles out there, but they were able to avoid really bad holes and sustained good scores." Ainsley Thompson and Rylee Pelley were both playing in the sectional for the first time. They shot 97 and 103 respectively, significant improvements from the season-opener when they were at Harrison Hills. "They both took 10 shots off their score from the season opener, so it was great to see them improve like that," Smith said. "Hopefully they improve again on Friday at the regional." The regional will be back at Harrison Hills on Friday. The top-3 teams and top-3 individuals not on an advancing team will head to the state finals. "We said before the round, to take notes on every hole about where you want to be and don't want to be, notes on the greens, things like that," Smith said. "We will go through those notes this week, concise them down into something we can use for regionals and see what happens." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on X @Will_Willems.