VASSALBORO — Bailey Plourde of Lincoln Academy kept the memory of last year’s second-place finish in the state schoolgirl golf championship fresh in her mind. She was determined not to let it happen again.
Playing a near flawless round, Plourde shot a 2-under-par 70 in cold and windy conditions Saturday to dethrone Hashilla Rivai of Thornton Academy at Natanis Golf Course.
“I tried to focus on what I was doing and not on what Hashilla was doing,” said Plourde, a junior. “She’s a great player.”
Plourde and Rivai were in the same group, with Erin Holmes of Greely and Lauren Schonewolf of Cape Elizabeth.
Plourde rode a hot putter to victory.
“My putting felt really good. Even if I didn’t hit it close, I felt I had a chance of making the putt,” she said.
Plourde played No. 1 for Lincoln Academy and was unbeaten in matches against boys. She had a nine-hole stroke average of 38. On Saturday, she made four birdies.
“I think all of them were from 15 feet and in,” she said. “The wind picked up late in the round, which made it challenging to judge distances.”
Rivai, a senior from Indonesia, bogeyed her first two holes en route to a 77 and a third-place finish. Holmes finished second with a 74.
Rivai rebounded with a birdie on No. 3 but never got on a roll. A double bogey later in the round ended any hopes of repeating.
“Bailey played great,” said Rivai. “It was just a bad day for me. My score wasn’t that bad but I was hoping it would be better, seeing that this was my last high school match.”
Cole Anderson, a 14-year-old freshman at Camden Hills, shot a 72 to capture the Class A boys’ title. Ryan Collins, a sophomore at Cape Elizabeth, and Nick Mazurek, a senior at Oceanside, tied for the Class B title with 74s, and Logan Thompson of Mattanawcook Academy won Class C with a 77.
Anderson birdied his first three holes and four of the first five.
“I was 4 under par after five holes,” said Anderson, who was Maine’s top scorer in the New England Junior Championship in August at the Purpoodock Club in Cape Elizabeth.
“I was fortunate to start on the part of the course where you can make some birdies. The rest of the round, it was a question of keeping my round together and avoiding the bad hole.”
Dylan Burton of Messalonskee was second in Class A with a 74. Billy Rollins, also from Messalonskee, and Cameron Cox of Mt. Ararat tied for third with 75s. Drew Kane of Scarborough was fifth with a 76.
Mazurek shared a title for the second straight year. Playing in Class A last year, he tied with Drew Powell of Bangor with a 72.
A week ago, Collins helped Cape Elizabeth win the Class B team title.
“I birdied my first hole, which gave me a lot of confidence,” said Collins. “I hit a lot of good drives, which added to my confidence. Toward the end of the round, it got really windy.”
Collins said he three-putted his last hole, which he thought wouldcost him. It did, but Mazurek had two three-putts in his round.
Mazurek was in a foursome with Eric Dugas of Maine Central Institute, Austin Legg of Cape Elizabeth and Alex Fritz of Belfast. Mazurek said he and Dugas pushed each other.
“We were going back and forth,” said Mazurek, who plans to play baseball in college at Southern New Hampshire University and is also one of the top players on Oceanside’s basketball team.
Kyle Lamson of Mt. Desert Island was third in Class B with a 76. Dugas, Tyler Walker of Lake Region and Cole Daniels of Old Town tied for fourth with 77s.
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