Prairie Ridge rules FVC

After completing just one hole, Prairie Ridge golfer Allison Holly was ready to change her game plan.

Instead of carrying her stress and nerves with her to the second hole, Holly decided to have fun. The sophomore had fun all the way through the Fox Valley Conference girls golf tournament at Crystal Woods Golf Course Wednesday. Holly shot a round of 85 to take the individual championship and the Wolves won the first conference tournament since 2004.

"The first hole didn't go too well," Holly said. "I started off getting nervous. Then I threw it all away. The second hole got better."

Even when Holly struggled on holes 12 and 14 in the back 9, she was able to keep the good times rolling and hold off Dundee-Crown's Beth Nowicke (88), who finished second. Huntley's Katelyn Anderberg (91) took third, McHenry's Stephanie Spengel (92) was fourth and Erin Hayes (92) marked the second Charger in the top 5, finishing fifth.

Nowicke had some of the same trouble spots as Holly, struggling with the water traps on holes 12 and 13.

"In my mind it just became a bad point," the Dundee-Crown senior said. "I turned a double bogey. I didn't use enough club getting over the water."

Nowicke, who won a MCJGA tournament at Crystal Woods over the summer, was pleased with her front 9.

Prairie Ridge was not.

The Wolves trailed eventual second-place finisher Crystal Lake Central (408) by 4 strokes. Prairie Ridge out-shot Central by 23 strokes on the back 9 to reclaim the conference championship. When the tournament was last held with a full field in 2004, the Wolves also won.

"This has been in the back of their heads ever since the end-of-the-year banquet last year," Prairie Ridge coach Patti Hie said. "We talked about it being a conference sport again."

Prairie Ridge senior Ashley Dunn, who finished sixth with a 96, was the only member of the Wolves who completed on the 2004 team. Then a freshman, Dunn's score didn't count towards the team total, so this time the victory felt a little different.

"We've been playing good this season," Dunn said. "We had our off days, but everyone played good. I was hoping we were going to win."

Prairie Ridge also got a 98 from Katelyn Horgan, who finished eighth overall and a 110 from Brittany Johnson.

Johnsburg (423) finished third, McHenry (414) was fourth, and Dundee-Crown was sixth.

Jacobs (504) was fifth, led by a 110 from Maria Tamburrino.