Valparaiso senior Grace Cusson wanted to right the ship.
She picked the right time to do so.
Shooting a 6-over-par 78, Cusson was the only golfer to break 80 on her way to earning medalist honors in Friday’s Valparaiso Sectional at the Valparaiso Country Club.
The Vikings placed four golfers in the top five to win their third straight sectional title.
“Everything kind of changed for me (Friday),” Cusson said. “I wasn’t nervous. I just felt like I was out there playing golf. Nothing got in the way.”
Cusson was pleased with her overall performance — in particular her tee shots. On a course that’s being prepped for this weekend’s Porter Amateur, conditions were tougher than usual, but Cusson made the necessary adjustments.
“The drives were very solid and straight, which was really nice, and all my irons were where I wanted,” she said. “The course was playing tough. It was a little dry, so the greens were very fast.
“I had to make sure I was hitting my approach shots solid, but also a little short so I could run it up. If I was putting, I had to find the right tempo so I wasn’t hitting too far past the hole.”
Valparaiso posted a team score of 334, followed by Chesterton with 410 and Portage with 414.
All three teams advance to next Saturday’s Lafayette Jefferson Regional at Battle Ground Golf Club.
“We were trying to get a good round to get momentum going into the regional,” Valparaiso coach Bill Miller said. “We were four shots away from the sectional record here at the country club so we’re extremely happy with our score.
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“The course was tough, so for us to come out and shoot what we did, I was quite impressed.”
Wynne Aldrich and Claire Lee posted 83s to tie for second, and Annika Johnson placed fourth with a 90. Sidney Husiar added a 96.
“We weren’t struggling, but we just weren’t all clicking together at the same time,” Miller said. “It was nice for us to get all five girls to have very good rounds on a very tough golf course.”
Hanover Central’s Isabel Sitkowski (109) and Boone Grove’s Katie Brei (111) and Annika Ehrlich (113) qualified as individuals.
Chesterton coach Jordan Nelson noted a marked improvement from his young team.
“We were here against Valpo earlier in the season and shot a 238 over nine holes,” Nelson said. “We were a little nervous today could go differently, but the girls put in a lot of work and prep and played better. We’re excited for them to get a chance to play at regionals.”
CJ Peters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.