By the time Pierce County’s Newspaper lands in the laps of most readers, the Prescott Girls Golf Team will likely be preparing for the WIAAState Golf Meet, set for next Monday and Tuesday at Blackwolf Run's Meadow Valley Course in Kohler.

Coach Chad Salay’s Cardinal team is emerging as a powerhouse. The team was impressive in winning the WIAA Regional Championship at Pheasant Hills in Hammond last Wednesday. The WIAA Sectional was set to be played Wednesday at Turtleback Golf Course in Rice Lake.

Salay likes his teams chances wherever they play. Other teams raved about the Cardinals – the top-ranked team in the state in Division 2 – as they dominated the Middle Border Conference Tournament and Regional play. At Regionals, the Cardinals finished in places two-five.

Prescott won the WIAA Regional with an impressive team score of 339, 25 strokes ahead of second-place Saint Croix Central. Regis Altoona was third (397), followed by Baldwin-Woodville 413, Somerset 420, Ellsworth 421, Colfax/Elk Mound 442, Osceola and Stanley-Boyd 461 and Amery 486.

For the Cards, it stacked up like this in the individual results.

2. Ava Salay 77 3. Liz Rohl 85 4. Jessica Heinsch 88 5. Rhi Stutz 89 12. Maddie Reiter 98 Prescott finished second at last year’s WIAA State Meet, and this group of players is going to be tough to beat – on any course and in any conditions. The weather in Hammond was something that few golfers would choose to walk 18 holes in. It alternated from rain showers to 40 mph winds with a few breaks of sunshine peeking through.

“It was brutal. It was two clubs of wind into some shots,” said Salay. “Our score was unbelievable, shooting in the 330s. That’s top level in the state type of score.”

The team was going to practice at Turtleback over the weekend, but the golfers are confident.

“The thing is our games travel. I feel like we can go anywhere, and the girls will golf well. We have skilled players. They’re going to play well whether it’s a tough course or an easy course,” said Salay.

Photos by John McLoone.