Venne Is MIAC Women's Medalist, But Carleton Wins Team Title

View full size image

COON RAPIDS -- Kyra Venne established the record for the lowest 18-hole score in the history of the St. Catherine University women's golf program last year when she shot a 2-under-par 70 at Prarie Links GC (Waverly, Iowa) in the first round of the Wartburg Fall Invitational. And she picked a good time to tie it -- last week, in the first round of the MIAC Women's Championships. 

This time, her 70 was 3 under at Bunker Hills. It gave her the lead after Day 1, and she never surrendered it -- at least not for long. The sophomore from Woodbury followed it with a 77 and a 75, which gave her a 54-hole total of 222 (3 over), and that was another school record. It was also good enough to give her the individual conference championship. 

Carter Sichol, a freshman from Winnetka, Ill., finished second. She also closed with a 75 and finished two behind Venne at 224. She was one of four freshmen in the Carleton lineup, and they combined to win the team championship, the fourth conference title for the Knights in the last eight years (2014, 2017, 2018 and 2022).

Venne led the individual competition wire to wire. In the third round, she parred the first five holes, then birdied the 475-yard, par-5 sixth and the 170-yard, par-3 seventh, before surrendering two strokes with bogeys at the eighth and ninth holes and concluding the front nine with an even-par 36. That increased her lead to four over Sichol, who was out in 38. But Sichol birdied the 10th (333 yards, par 4), and Venne bogeyed the 13th (333, par 4).

Venne came right back with a birdie at the par-5 14th (430), but she doubled the par-5 15th (440), and Sichol birdied it -- a three-shot swing that left them tied for first. Ultimately, Venne claimed the individual crown by parring the last two holes, the 180-yard, par-3 17th (quite possibly the hardest hole on the course) and the 340-yard, par-4 18th, because Sichol bogeyed both of them.

This is the first time anyone from St. Catherine has won an MIAC individual championship in golf. 

But Carleton had strength in numbers, and that was how the Knights claimed the team crown. 

Bethel's Greta McArthur and Macalester's Bailey Lengfelder tied for third individually with three-day aggregates of 227. But three of the next four places went to the Knights. Cynthia Lu, a freshman from Redmond, Wash., tied for fifth at 228, along with St. Catherine's Sydney Brandt. Natalie Tatar, a freshman from Denver, was one shot behind her at 229, in seventh, and Sarah Zheng, yet another Carleton freshman (from Bolingrook, Ill.) took eighth place with a 231.

So the Knights ended up with four of the top eight finishers in the individual competition. St. Catherine had three of the top nine, because Morgan Anderson took ninth with a 333. 

The top 10 finishers were named to the MIAC All-Championships team. Claiming the 10th spot, with a 234, was Sydney Monge of St. Olaf.

Like Venne, the Carleton team led after each of the three rounds, although the Wildcats were never all that far behind. The lead for the Knights was two after they put up a team score of 302 (four players count) on Day 1, and they increased it to 10 by shooting the same score on Day 2. St. Catherine narrowed the gap by shooting 304 on Day 3, to 308 by Carleton, but the Knights ended up six ahead -- 912 to 918. 

The victory assures Carleton of a spot in the NCAA Division III Championships next May. Considering how close they came to winning, the Wildcats have a reasonalbe chance of getting at at-large bid to the national tournament.

Bethel finished third in the teams standings, at 943, and Macalester was another 22 back in fourth at 965. 


MIAC Women's Championships. 

At Bunker Hills Golf Course

Par 73, 5,785 yards

Coon Rapids

Final results

1. Carleton                    302-302-308--912

2. St. Catherine             304-310-304--918

3. Bethel                        317-313-313--943

4. Macalester                 330-325-310--965

5. St. Benedict               330-332-318--980

6. Gustavus Adolphus   330-331-331--992

7. St. Olaf                       335-337-329--1001

8. St. Scholastica           335-342-334--1011

9. Concordia                  352-353-351--1056

10. Augsburg                 356-360-355--1071

Individuals

1. Kyra Venne, St. Catherine          70-77-75--222

2. Carter Sichol, Carleton                74-75-75--224

T3. Greta McArthur, Bethel              78-75-75--227

T3. Bailey Lengfelder, Macalester    76-80-71--227

T5. Cynthia Lu, Carleton                  75-78-75--228

T5. Sydney Brandt, St. Catherine     76-77-75--228

7. Natalie Tatar, Carleton                   75-74-80--229

8. Sarah Zheng, Carleton                   78-75-78--231

9. Morgan Anderson, St. Catherine   81-76-76--233

10. Sydney Monge, St. Olaf                75-83-76--234