It was a new year with the same result at the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A girls golf state championships at Pinehurst No. 6 on Tuesday.
For the second year in a row, Northwest Guilford’s Leah Edwards won the state title, and for the third straight year, Pinecrest took home the team honors.
On the second day of competition on Tuesday, Edwards matched her day one score of 70, which is even par on the 5,326-yard course. Edwards started the day with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes, and also recorded birdies on No. 5, No. 14, and No. 15. A double bogey on No. 7 and a triple bogey on No. 12 kept her from finishing under par.
Edwards’s two-day score of 140 was one stroke ahead of Myers Park’s Elizabeth Rudisill, who won the state title in 2022. Rudisill recorded a 3-under par 67 on Tuesday, the only sub-par score of the tournament. It was not enough to make up for her 4-over par 74 on Monday though.
Edwards and Rudisill entered the 17th hole tied in the two-day score total, but Rudisill recorded a bogey on the 332-yard par 4, which gave Edwards a one-stroke lead. Both players recorded a par on No. 18.
With the win, Edwards becomes the first 4A girls golfer to repeat as a state champion since Jennifer Chang of Athens Drive won four straight in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.
Jordan senior Emerson Dever finished third with a two-day score of 144 (+4).
Kaitlyn Kruczek, Pinecrest
Pinecrest had two players involved in a four-way tie for fourth place. Senior Kaitlyn Kruczek, who entered the day in a tie for first place with Edwards, and freshman Ashley Lee both finished with two-day scores of 146 (+6), leading the Patriots to a third straight 4A team title. Cardinal Gibbons senior Mary Elizabeth Harrison and New Bern junior Baker Hudson were also part of that tie.
Pinecrest finished the day with a team score of 443, eight strokes better than second-place Charlotte Catholic, which finished with a score of 451.
Only 13 strokes separated first and fourth place. Marvin Ridge was third with a score of 453 and Northwest Guilford finished fourth with a score of 456. Myers Park rounded out the top five with a score of 473.
Pinecrest becomes the first team to win three straight 4A girls golf state championships since Lee County won three in a row in 1997, 1998, and 1999.
4A Girls Golf State Championship Leaderboard | Individual Standings1. Leah Edwards (Northwest Guilford) – 140 (E)2. Elizabeth Rudisill (Myers Park) – 141 (+1)3. Emerson Denver (Jordan) – 144 (+4)T4. Mary Elizabeth Harrison (Cardinal Gibbons) – 146 (+6)T4. Kaitlyn Kruczek (Pinecrest) – 146 (+6)T4. Ashley Lee (Pinecrest) – 146 (+6)T4. Baker Hudson (New Bern) – 146 (+6)T8. Xinyan Li (Marvin Ridge) – 147 (+7)T8. Emery Lewis (Northwest Guilford) – 147 (+7)10. Elizabeth Guthrie (Charlotte Catholic) – 148 (+8)4A Girls Golf State Championship Leaderboard | Individual Standings1. Pinecrest – 443 (+23)2. Charlotte Catholic – 451 (+31)3. Marvin Ridge – 453 (+33)4. Northwest Guilford – 456 (+36)5. Myers Park – 473 (+53)6. Green Hope – 494 (+74)7. T.C. Roberson – 496 (+76)8. Hoggard – 511 (+91)9. Weddington – 515 (+95)10. Green Level – 529 (+109)11. Cardinal Gibbons – 536 (+116)12. Heritage – 546 (+126)
