Another year on the greens has come to a close, with Prescott finishing 10th at Division 1 State and Ellsworth junior Aubrey Marks posting a solid score in Division 2 in Madison.

Prescott struggled a bit on day one, scoring a 375. Head Coach Chad Salay attributed that to nerves, and when they settled in, they scored a 341 on day two.

“The weather was unbelievable for our State. This is by far the best [weather] year we’ve ever had,” Salay said. “Day one, I think we played with a lot of nerves. Not a ton of experience at State. A couple girls that have played, and even those two, Macy Reiter hasn’t played at State for a couple years.

“We kinda had high hopes that we’d pull out a performance out of nowhere, but with that little experience and the height of the State Tournament just didn’t work out,” Salay added.

Prescott was led this season by the consistent senior trio of Layla Salay, Macy Reiter and Lily Vesperman. Those three again led the team, with Salay scoring a 166, Reiter scoring a 173 and Vesperman 178. With the team missing out on State a year ago, it meant a lot to return. Salay qualified individually a year ago, but it had been two years since Reiter competed at State and it was the first State experience for Vesperman.

“Just four years of phenomenal effort. The seniors, two of them won a State Championship their freshman year and runner-up their sophomore year. Just great leaders,” Salay said. “So proud of all of them. They’ve been playing golf together for so long. It’s going to be a huge loss for our program.”

Underclassmen junior Avery Braun and freshman Claire Salay stepped up big to help the Cardinal team win conference, Regionals and Sectionals. Those two scored 207 and 202 at State.

“Definitely have some work to do, but they’re on the right path. Huge improvement throughout the year,” Salay said. “They’ve just got to learn from those seniors and see the effort that’s been put in by them to get where they got.”

Ellsworth junior Aubrey Marks also competed at State individually. Marks scored a 198 (103, 95) to wrap up an excellent postseason and finish in the middle of the Division 2 State pack. Marks flew a bit under the radar as the No. 3 golfer in the Panther lineup for much of the year, but the experience from being a part of the Regional title winning team as a sophomore brought on the confidence to perform.