This time around, the Martinsville girls golf team reversed its fortunes and it won them the state championship.

After coming in third the past three seasons, and leading the tournament after Day 1 this past Friday, the Artesians shot 14 strokes better than anyone else on Saturday to claim coach Sharon Most's 10th state championship. The second-day team score of 305 was the second best total posted in championship history, which propelled Martinsville to dominating the field by 19 strokes over all.

I asked coach Most if things could've gone any better for her team.

"No," she quickly responded. "No, it couldn't have."

The Artesians were led, once again, by the sister combo of Carleigh and Chelsea Silvers (featured in the September issue of HSSTM). Each shot a two-day total of 152. Chelsea, a senior, posted an even-par 72 on the final day as the pair tied for 12th individually. The depth and consistency of the Artesians was too much to handle, with sophomore Kelsey Benson (80-78) and seniors Molly Burpo (81-82) and Emily Habbel (86-80) all contributing to the title.

"It was a little like getting the monkey off our backs," said Most, talking about finally getting the title after three years of coming up just short. "The big talk on Friday (after the first day) was how we were going to switch things up and go from third to first instead of the other way around. And we did that."

Other area teams to commend for fine seasons include Hamilton Southeastern (2nd), Noblesville (4th), Brebeuf (T-5th), Roncalli (T-5th), Cathedral (7th) and Carmel (9th).

Individually, Brebeuf sophomore Sophie Hayashi claimed the state championship by defeating Carmel senior Milena Savich on the second playoff hole. Each shot a two-day total of 146 to earn a spot in the playoff. Cathedral senior Michele Nash finished third with a 149.

Other News & Notes 

• Had a chance to see Franklin Central running back Darius Willis during Friday's 35-13 win over Bloomington North. Wow, he's dangerous. It was more his style that I was impressed with than anything else. He has a rare combination of size, speed, aggression and explosiveness that is simply a joy to watch.
• Speaking of Franklin Central, its defense better shore up if the Flashes expect to have a chance to pull off the upset of Pike next week. Too many missed tackles, not enough pressure on the quarterback.
• Congrats to Carmel...wish I would have seen that win over Warren on Friday. Both teams should be noted really, what a fine high school football game. HSSTM's Brian Moore was sending me emails throughout the game, and it was almost as exciting to get the back-and-forth action that way as it would have been to actually see it.
• Also noted was Sheridan's close call in a 16-14 win over Tipton at Friday's PeyBack Classic. In my mind, you measure a team's strength, coaching and overall attitude by seeing how they play when things aren't going well. The Blackhawks were able to pull of a win in the face of a good defense and other miscues. It's very similar to the college ranks on Saturday, when USC was able to hang on and win over Washington when they had almost 200 yards in penalties, playing in inclement weather and clearly not having their best game.