Prescott girls golf wins third consecutive WIAA Division 2 Championship

Great teams respond to and overcome adversity.

Perhaps no team in the 2022 WIAA Girls Golf State Tournament knows that better than the Prescott Cardinals, who had to overcome a four-shot deficit after day one of the tourna ment to claim their third straight state championship on the second day of competition, Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison. The Cardinals won an extra-hole playou to claim the title.

Prescott seniors Ava Salay and Rhi Stutz headlined the Cardinals’ exceptional play on day two of the tournament, which culminated in another state championship trophy.

Prescott started the final day of competi tion on the back nine, which is where Salay played the first six holes level par. Her hot start included birdies on the par-five 11th and the par-four 15th, as well as bogeys on the 10th and 12th holes. But perhaps the Cardinals’ biggest saving grace was Stutz, who played the first six holes in one-under par.

Stutz’s strong start helped Prescott flip the scoreboard and put the Cardinals back on top through the first seven holes of day two. The four-shot deficit to then-leader The Prairie School, an independent private school based in Racine, didn’t make it easy for Prescott.

The Prairie School finished third in the 2021 Girls Golf State Tournament and runner- up in the 2020 tournament held at the Blackwolf Run Golf Course in Kohler. Their battle-tested roster wasn’t going to make it easy for Prescott.

Day two featured additional adversity.

Prescott’s hot start in the opening six holes led to a three-shot advantage. However, the Cardinals stumbled in the latter half of the front nine which gave way to The Prairie School regaining the lead which eventually ballooned to nine shots as both teams made the turn.

It was a strong back nine led by veteran leadership in Salay, Stutz and senior Maddie Reiter that helped the Cardinals once again overcome a deficit. The Car dinals found themselves in a grudge match for the state title in large part because of a lackluster team score on day one.

“I said to my assistant coach Darren (Reiter) on the ride back to the van (after day one) that I didn’t think anybody had their A-game today,” Salay recalled. “I think our score shows that. This is by far the highest score that we’ve had all year.”

For at least the last three years, Prescott has been a heavy favorite in every tournament that they’ve played in. They were expected to win the state title last year and did by nearly 50 shots. They were expected to win the regional and sectional tournaments this year and did by more than 30 shots.

However, things didn’t go their way on the first day of the state tournament and coach Salay stated that they took a pretty massive metaphorical punch on Monday afternoon.

“It goes back to the old adage, everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face and we definitely got punched today,” Salay said. “Now we’re the hunters. We were the hunted all year and now we’re the hunters going into tomorrow. We’ll go for it and make a run at it. I know our girls are hungry and want to get back after it.”

Salay was correct in his assumption after that first day of championship play ended. His roster did battle back, overcome another deficit on Tuesday afternoon, and secured that third consecutive state championship. The comeback likely would have fallen woefully short had Stutz not played one of her best rounds of the season on day two.

The victory means that some of the most important seniors in program history, including Salay, Stutz and Reiter, go out on top one fi nal time as state champions. Their contributions to the program run deeper than just the championship-caliber scores they shot. It includes the work ethic they instilled deep in the fibers of the pro gram and the rich tradition of success they built in Prescott.

See detailed coverage of the Prescott championship in next week’s edition of The Journal.

Prescott senior Ava Salay rolls a birdie putt attempt on the eighth green at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison on Monday, Oct. 10. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Maddie Reiter of the Prescott girls golf team hits follows through her driver swing on the 15th tee box on day two of the annual WIAA Girls Golf State Tournament at the University Ridge Golf Course in Madison. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Prescott sophomore Gabbi Matzek pulls the driver back during her backswing on the second tee during the first round of the 2022 WIAA Division 2 State Tournament. Matzek posted an opening round 88, which was Prescott’s second-best score of the day. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Prescott senior Ava Salay crushes a drive during the opening round of the 2022 WIAA Division 2 State Tournament. Salay finished the day with a round of 75, which was Prescott’s best score and the second-best score of the entire Division 2 field.Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Sophomore Jeanne Rohl of the Prescott girls’ golf team lines up a chip shot on the sixth hole at University Ridge in Madison on Monday, Oct. 10. Photo by Reagan Hoverman