New girls golf champions crowned at Morris County Tournament

MOUNT OLIVE — Annie Costache didn't really trust the process at the girls golf Morris County Tournament on Thursday.

The Morris Knolls players, all freshmen and sophomores, were convinced they'd won. Yet they had to compete in a one-hole playoff against Chatham and Morristown Beard.

But first, the Golden Eagles needed to track down freshman Brielle Malone, who was looking for her putter on a faraway par 4 at Flanders Valley Golf Course.

Once young Morris Knolls got settled, they played consistently. The girls each shot 1-over on the par-4 extra hole, totaling 20 strokes to edge Morristown Beard and Chatham – and finally pose with the plaque they thought they should have had almost an hour earlier.

This is the Golden Eagles' debut season. In 2018, Christi Conroy won the MCT girls title competing for Morris Knolls as an individual.

Another individual, Morristown senior Caroline Fixter, finally claimed her own MCT crown on Thursday. Fixter and Colonials teammate Maya Burton went 1-2 in the girls MCT.

Fixter played "boring golf" en route to a 1-over 37 in the nine-hole girls' tournament. Her goal is to duplicate her feat in the other golf MCT on May 1, when she'll mostly be playing alongside boys.

"It's fun, changing it up," Fixter said. "Now that I'm a senior, I don't know a lot of the younger ones. There's definitely a new generation coming through. I remember I looked up to (three-time champion) Sammie (Dolce of Morris Tech) . It's great I can do that for other girls."

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Dolce, a Florham Park resident, is now the No. 2 player at Bowling Green State University.

The girls golf MCT has continued to grow, with participants from 19 schools . Golden Eagles freshman Olivia Gaglione was disappointed with her team-low 45, good for third overall.

"There was a lot going on," said Costache, a sophomore. "We knew we could do it the whole time."

Girls team results

Morris Knolls 211 (Olivia Gaglione 45, Kendyl Croft 51, Brielle Malone 62, Annie Costache 53); Morristown Beard 211 (Sloane Fiverson 61, Sam Yagoda 50, Quinn Jeffery 50, Molly Baker 50); Chatham 211 (Callie Ferguson 54, Eva Morrison 52, Diana Carbone 56, Alex Caruso 49); Villa Walsh 220 (Holly Smitreski 58, Nora Dam 59, Rebekah Saxon 49, Bridget Drew 54); Montville 222 (Mara Bilenski, Bailey Stepien, Maria Rothschild, C.C. Fariello); West Morris 225 (Samantha Mancuso 53, Sania Madane 50, Kayla Vecchione 67, Madi Reed 55); Madison 229 (Elizabeth Green 53, Lily Fee 53, Anna Silbaugh 60, Charlotte Dunn 63); Mendham 231 (Juliette Hyde 51, Chelsea Pappas 68, Ava Azzani 59, Raleigh Ball 53); Pequannock 231 (Paige Germanski 53, Abigail Goll 55, Shayla Osmanski 56, Alyssa Savastano 67); Mountain Lakes 233 (Olivia Manchand 53, Manasvi Shah 56, Flor Debejer 62, Joanna Levy 62); Jefferson 237 (Katie Blair 62, Samantha Cocca 57, Erin Nibley 61, Alexa Smelius 57)

Butler: Samantha Toledo 63, Cassidy Boasso 68

Kinnelon: Olivia Lee 60

Morristown: Caroline Fixter 37, Maya Burton 41

Morris Tech: Caroline Chin 55, Priya Gandhi 56, Jessica Imhauser 65

Park Regional: Ashley Peterson 68, Kaylee Wohlgemuth 54, Jolie Casale 51

Parsippany: Anya Patel 61

Parsippany Hills: Amberlin Lee 51

Randolph: Jeannie Shore 51

Individual medalists

Caroline Fixter (Morristown) 37; Maya Burton (Morristown) 41; Olivia Gaglione (Morris Knolls) 45; Alex Caruso (Chatham) 49; Rebekah Saxon (Villa Walsh) 49; Sonia Madone (West Morris) 50; Quinn Jeffrey (Morristown Beard) 50; Mara Bilenski (Montville) 50; Sam Yagoda (Morristown Beard) 50; Molly Baker (Morristown Beard); Jeannie Shore (Randolph) 51; Amberlin Lee (Parsippany Hills) 51.

Course: Flanders Valley Blue, par 36.

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: New girls golf champions crowned at Morris County Tournament