Ursuline on track for repeat, Morgan Guepet of St. Martin’s half way to another state golf title

LAFAYETTE – Morgan Guepet of St. Martin’s, the two-time champion in Girls Division II, made a big step toward a third straight title with a five-under-par 69 Monday in the opening round of the Ochsner Health LHSAA State Golf Championships.

Guepet posted a 33-36—69 score and holds a six-stroke lead over Arianna Blagrove of Ursuline and Samantha Schultz of Christ Episcopal after the first round over the 5,679-yard par-74 Les Vieux Chenes Golf Club layout.

Blagrove and teammate Ashley Biehl, who carded an 83, teamed for a 158 score to give defending champion Ursuline the team lead going into Tuesday’s final round. That score was good enough for a 13-stroke advantage over Episcopal in second place at 171, while St. Martin’s is third at 172 and Ascension Christian fourth at 175.

Training Guepet, Blagrove and Schultz in the individual chase are Sophia Macias of Episcopal in fourth place at 77 and Peyton Flynn of Ascension Christian in fifth at 79.

Two-time defending champion Barbe of Lake Charles posted two of the top three individual scores and used that performance to take the team lead after Monday’s first round of the Girls Division I competition.

Isabella Callaba and Mattie Purgahn both shot four-over 78 scores for Barbe at Les Vieux Chenes. That gave Barbe a 156 team score, enough for a 23-stroke lead over runner-up Sacred Heart-New Orleans entering Tuesday’s final round.

Northshore stands one more stroke back in third place at 180 and Sam Houston stands fourth at 186.

Jade Neves led the way for Sacred Heart with a one-over 75 and is the individual leader by three strokes over the Barbe duo, while Teagan Connors of The Willow School, last year’s third place finisher, is one more stroke back at 79. Sahithi Koneru of Dominican rounded out the top five, standing in fifth place at 82 entering the final round.

C.E. Byrd had three players break par in the opening round to take the first-day lead here Monday in the Boys Division I competition.

Byrd, the defending champion and winners of five of the last seven titles, had a one-over 289 score in the first round over the 6,536-yard par-72 Farm d’Allie layout. That was good enough for a seven-stroke lead over St. Paul’s at 296, with Benton and Catholic-Baton Rouge tied for third at 302 entering Tuesday’s final round.

Carter Schmitt of Catholic-Baton Rouge posted the top individual score with a five-under-par 67, giving him the individual lead by three strokes over Zachary’s Drew Silman at two-under 70. Three Byrd players – Ethan Dial, Duke Bowen and Grant Reagan – are among five players tied for third at one-under 71, along with Nick Kelsey of St. Paul’s and Noah McWilliams of Benton.

Five players are at even par, and defending champion Joshua Achord stands at two-over 74 entering the final round, which begins at 9 a.m.

St. Louis Catholic put three players in the individual top seven, all of them at par or better, to take the first-day lead in boys Division II.

Ross Anderson of St. Louis shot three-under on the back nine and claimed the individual lead at two-under-par 70 over the 6,348-yard par-72 The Wetlands layout. He holds a one-stroke lead over Stephen Faucheaux of Holy Cross and Collin Jones of Westlake, both at one-under 71 entering Tuesday’s final round.

St. Louis’ Samuel Broussard and Cameron Langley both posted an even-par 72 to boost their squad to an even-par 288 total, enough for a 12-stroke lead over St. Thomas More (300) and a 17-stroke lead over tournament host Teurlings Catholic (305). Holy Cross stands in fourth place at 308.

Along with Broussard and Langley, Ayden Fontenot of Teurlings Catholic and Jude Bourque of St. Thomas More are also tied for fourth at even-par 72. Kye Hanks had the other counting score for St. Louis with a two-over 74 and is tied with Dax Reaux of Teurlings Catholic and Tripp Bellard of St. Thomas More for eighth place individually.

Four-time defending champion Ascension Episcopal had two standout scores from Kale Fontenot and Jay Mendell and grabbed a big lead in the team standings here Monday in boys Division III.

Fontenot shot four-under on the back side of the 6,291-yard par-72 Cane Row Golf Club layout and grabbed the individual lead with a seven-under 65 – the lowest round of any of the six divisions of the tournament on Monday.

Mendell, individual runner-up last year, was four-under on the front and finished one stroke back at six-under 66.

Those scores helped Ascension Episcopal post a three-under 285 team total in the first round, good enough for a 21-stroke lead over second-place Loyola Prep entering the final round. Loyola Prep posted a team 306 score, while Dunham
is third at 318 and Isidore Newman is fourth at 332.

Episcopal-Acadiana put three players in the individual top 10 and used that performance to take the team lead Monday in boys Division IV.

Riggs Ryan, Adam Trahan and Tripp Krodisch of ESA posted 71, 74 and 77 scores to help their team post a 304 first-day score over the 6,105-yard par-70 Bayou Bend Country Club course in Crowley.

Logan Heltz of Christ Episcopal shot a three-under 32 on the front nine and holds a three-stroke lead in the individual competition after a three-under 67 score.

LHSAA State Golf Tournament