WOOD RIVER - All year long, Sarah Hyten has captured wins against top-notch girls' high school golfers. Once again Thursday, Hyten was spectacular and she won the individual crown of the IHSA Class 1A Regional at Belk Park in Wood River. The McGivney girls' team was equally impressive with a third-place finish in the regional.
Along with Hyten's winning score, the Griffins had a 96 from Paige Yasitis, Kendall Riechmann shot a 100, Amelia Hylla fired a 103 and Ava Jackson shot a 115. The Explorers won with a team score of 355, with Highland second at 364 and McGivney third, claiming the last team spot to advance to Monday's sectional.
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Hyten and her team are Byron, Carlson, Petri, and Kalb Female Athletes of the Month for McGivney. The advancing teams and individuals will play in the Salem sectional Monday afternoon at the Salem Country Club, with the IHSA state tournament going off next weekend, Oct. 7-8, at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur.
McGivney Catholic Athletic Director praised Sarah and the Griffins team for their performance on Thursday. He also saluted the first-year coach Steve Finn for his tremendous efforts working with the girls.
“I was really impressed by Sarah and the other girls on the team,” Oller said.
“Sarah comes from a golf family and is just a really talented player and has a great attitude on how she handles everything. She has so much potential. I am really looking forward to seeing how she and the team do at the sectional. She is a very special player.”
Coach Finn said looking down at the leader board he didn’t see many underclassmen and Sarah appeared the youngest on the list.
“She didn’t shoot over 39 for nine holes or over 78 for 18 this season,” the coach said. “I am just blown away with her talent and I couldn’t be prouder of her and the other girls. We had homecoming but the girls found time with practice and they did exactly what they needed to do to get in the right frame of mind.”
The Hytens are a golf family and Sarah is following the footsteps of her sister, Ellie, and her brother Joey, who is our No. 2 golfer on the boy's team. They are all just great people.”
