The Dublin Jerome girls golf team is in the driver’s seat to win its eighth Division I state championship, and four central Ohio individuals are in the top 10 entering the final round of the tournament Oct. 13 at Firestone Country Club in Akron.
Led by a 3-over par 73 from sophomore Nikitha Suresh, Jerome shot 315 in the first round Oct. 12 and has a six-shot lead on Medina Highland.
Suresh had 13 pars and one birdie and is in a five-way tie for second individually, four shots behind Solon senior Serena Wu.
Also in the second-place logjam are Worthington Kilbourne’s Bella Anderson, Olentangy’s Meadow Tian, defending state champion Eva Becerril from Cincinnati Sycamore and Highland’s Elizabeth Coleman. All are seniors.
Tian had 11 pars Oct. 12 and eagled the par-5, 448-yard No. 17.
Sophomore Adella Pawlowski is tied for 10th for Jerome (736), followed by classmate Mallory Quickel (80, tied for 17th) and freshman Maya Faustino (86, tied for 43rd). Junior Mingyuan Zheng carded an 89 for the Celtics, who are seeking their second championship in three years.
Playing without one of its leaders in sophomore Jodie Han, Olentangy is tied for sixth (329) with Springboro.
Han missed the first round because she was participating in the American Junior Golf Association’s 1st Clubs for Kids Foundation Junior All-Star Invitational in Broussard, Louisiana. Han tied for fifth (215) with rounds of 75, 69 and 71 and will be subbed into the lineup for the final round, according to coach Micah Conley.
Juniors Sophia Dreischarf and Kaylee Keys both shot 82 and are tied for 23rd for Olentangy. Junior Aubrey Davis (92, tied for 53rd) rounded out the Braves’ scoring.
Olentangy freshman Varshita Vivek was in the lineup for Han on Oct. 12 and shot a 108.
Central Ohio’s other individual qualifier, New Albany junior Brooke Baker, shot 77 and is tied for 14th.
Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit (323) is third in the team race, followed by defending champion Rocky River Magnificat (325), Toledo St. Ursula (326), Olentangy and Springboro, Canfield (338), Sycamore (346), Cincinnati Anderson (347), Whitehouse Anthony Wayne (360) and Minerva (407).
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
