Gold, Geisendorfer top regional field, lead QHS girls to sixth straight regional golf championship

PEORIA, Ill. — The kinship Sophia Gold and Saya Geisendorfer share made the idea of an on-course playoff for the regional championship between the Quincy High School golfers incredibly unappealing.

So they asked if they could avoid it.

Gold, a sophomore, and Geisendorfer, a senior, topped the field in the Class 2A Peoria Richwoods Regional on Thursday as both shot 7-over 78 at Newman Golf Course. Before a playoff for individual medalist could take place, they approached Richwoods coach Tom Hayes with an alternative.

Let a scorecard playoff decide it.

“He asked me, ‘Do you care?’” QHS coach Hanlynn Vahlkamp said. “I didn’t. I was good with whatever the girls wanted to do. They are so nice and they were like, ‘I’m OK if Saya wins and I’m OK if Sophia wins.’ 

“They are so humble and they are such team players. It was kind of like, ‘She’s from my school. Yes, I want to win, but I don’t necessarily want to take that from her. It’s coming home with us anyway.’ So they went to a scorecard playoff.”

Because of that, Gold officially took first and Geisendorfer was second as they led the Blue Devils to the team’s sixth consecutive regional crown. Quincy posted a 334 team score, distancing itself from Pekin (344) and Moline (382).

Those three teams advance to the Class 2A O’Fallon Sectional on Monday at Fair Oaks Golf Club.

“Monday will be tough,” Vahlkamp said of the field of 12 teams that advanced. “But they should be really proud of bringing home another regional. We’ll go to Fair Oak on Monday and give it our best.”

Thursday, that meant adjusting to conditions. Maddie O’Brien posted an 87 and Dulaney Bennett shot a 91 as the Blue Devils’ scores improved as the day’s temperatures rose.

“At first, they struggled to get their second shots to the greens,” Vahlkamp said. “Some of them were missing just a little bit. It could have been the cold air, and it could have been some nerves, too. But they adjusted and made good choices.

“If they were between shots, they usually clubbed up. That helped get them there. Overall, it was good course management that helped them score.”