REXFORD — The Section 2 girls golf tournament began on Wednesday, gathering many of the powerhouse programs in the sport at The Edison Club in Rexford. But one team was full of new faces.
The Saratoga Central Catholic girls varsity golf team qualified for this year’s sectional tournament as a team for the first time in school history, and also had three golfers representing the Saints in the individual tournament. It was a large step forward for the program, which previously had only one Section 2 qualifier in team history (Allison Motler in 2021).
Clara Goffioul, Chloe Lawrence, and Maddison Norton qualified for the Section 2 individual tournament, and the trio was joined by Aila Cartier for the team competition. Head coach Heather Bott said the trip to sectionals represents the girls’ dedication to the sport, and noted a sectional appearance was their goal entering the season.
“I knew with this group of girls, it was a real possibility,” said Bott of sectionals. “At the very beginning of the season, I was like, ‘Our goal is to send a team.’”
“It was definitely the goal,” added Lawrence.
“Yeah, everyone was close, but no one made it (last year),” said Cartier.
The Saints’ lineup at The Edison Club included Goffioul, a senior who was a part of the school’s first-ever girls golf team as a ninth-grader, Bott said. After moving to Germany, her family returned to the area in time for her senior year, and Goffioul was able to cap it off with a trip to sectionals.
“I was so happy, because it was my senior year, so it was my last chance to make sectionals,” Goffioul said. “And it’s my first year back, so I’m actually really happy I made that.”
“I was excited to see that she was coming back, because I was hopeful that she could have an opportunity to qualify for sectionals, and she did,” added Bott.
The team also includes Norton, a ninth-grader who has been a member of the varsity team since seventh grade.
“I’ve been working for it for three years,” said Norton. “I came close last year. It just feels good.”
Lawrence also qualified this year after finishing only one match short in 2022, Bott said. She added it is rewarding to see the team achieve its goal, saying it has been “a lot of fun to watch them grow.”
“I think really, it was just dedicating themselves to the sport,” Bott said. “You can see the improvement they’ve made over the last year … Just being able to watch them, see them grow, get to know them a little bit more on the course, and see their personalities come out, see them enjoy the love that they have for the game and watch that grow, it’s been really fun.”
The Saints placed eighth as a team, with a total score of 453. Lawrence shot 101, Goffioul shot 108, Cartier shot 117, and Norton shot 127. Prior to sectional play, Bott said her message to the team was simply to “enjoy the experience,” which was echoed by the Saints’ golfers.
“I just want them to have fun and take it all in,” Bott said ahead of sectionals on Tuesday. “Don’t take it so seriously. Because golf is a tough game. It’s a mental game. Just having fun, enjoying the camaraderie that they have with their teammates, with the other teams that they’re playing, that’s what it’s all about.
“If you focus on that, I tell them, everything else will come.”
