The first Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament of the fall is in the books, and Waukesha South/North/West freshman Emily Joers stole the show.
Fighting blustery conditions at University Ridge Golf Course outside Madison -- the final round of the two-day state girls golf tournament had to be delayed three hours due to frost -- Joers shot a 1-under-par 71 on Tuesday. That gave her a two-day total of 150 and a two-stroke victory over Madison East's Alex Douglas.
According to research by the WIAA staff, Joers is the first freshman to win the Division 1 individual championship.
According to a story by Rob Reischel, freelancing for the Journal Sentinel, Joers had 43 putts in her Monday round but needed only 31 in the second.
"It was a lot windier out there than (Monday), so I was really happy with that score," Joers told the paper.
In the team race, Middleton won its first state title with a two-day total of 683. The Cardinals finished one stroke ahead of runner-up Oregon.
Here are links to Division 1 team scoring and individual results. The real news came, once again, in the Division 2 tournament. That's where Madison Edgewood beat everyone -- including Mother Nature -- to win its ninth consecutive state championship.
The Crusaders took an amazing 61-shot lead after the first round, then braved the wind and cold on Tuesday to finish with a total score of 628 and a 110-stroke margin of victory over runner-up Edgerton.
Edgewood coach Peggy Gierhart told the Wisconsin State Journal's Rob Schultz that "it doesn't get old" for the Crusaders, the Wisconsin prep golf equivalent of the John Wooden-era UCLA basketball program. The last seven of Edgewood's titles came in Division 2; the others came in a single-division format.
Osceola's Casey Danielson won the individual Division 2 title with a two-day total of 146, followed by Edgewood senior Meghan Martine, who shot a 1-under 71 on Tuesday to finish at 148. Three other Edgewood players finished in the top seven.
Notably, not only did Edgewood's winning score beat Division 1 champ Middleton's by 55 strokes, Danielson's individual winning score was four strokes better than Joers'.
Here are links to Division 2 team results and individual scoring.
Art Kabelowsky has spent 33 years in the sports writing business, the last 12 with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Art was named the Journal Sentinel's Prep Editor in July, 2000, directing its high school sports coverage until he accepted the paper's offer of a voluntary buyout last August.
A graduate of Sussex Hamilton High School and UW-Whitewater, Art has also worked for daily papers in Fort Atkinson, Racine, La Crosse and Decatur, Ill. He has been sports editor in Fort Atkinson and La Crosse.
Art spent five years as a beat reporter covering the La Crosse Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association and has also covered a Rose Bowl, countless Green Bay Packers games and more than 25 years' worth of state high school basketball tournaments and football finals.
He lives on the northwest side and has spent the last few months volunteering as an assistant football coach at Milwaukee Riverside High School.
