Black Knight finish fourth, will make return trip to state

ARLINGTON – Van Buren struggled a bit on the back nine on Tuesday, but the Black Knights were able to put together a 381 team total, finish fourth in the Division II district, and punch their ticket to next week's girls state golf tournament in Akron.As a team, Van Buren's five players shot 14 strokes higher on the back nine (249) than on the front (235) at Arlington's Sycamore Springs Golf Course. The Knights had a decent cushion over fifth-place Archbold (390), though, in earning the program's fifth straight berth in the Division II girls state tournament, which this year will be held Oct. 13-14 at the Firestone Country Club in Akron.Addyson Adams fired a 2-over-par 38 on the front side and led Van Buren with an 86 total on Tuesday. The junior was eighth in the medalist standings.Sophomores Lauren Hibbard and Jordan Paton carded a 96, and a 98 respectively for Van Buren. Grace Webster, the lone senior in a rather young Knights' lineup, rounded out the 381 total with a 101.Wauseon won the district title with a 367. Fremont St. Joseph (371), Tiffin Calvert (380) and Van Buren rounded out the four teams that qualified for the state tournament.Calverty's Alyssa Rishty was the medalist, scoring a 73 and winning the title by three strokes over Kim Chaeyeon, a freshman from Mansfield St. Peter's. She landed one of the four state-qualifying spots as an individual, along with Otsego's Elizabeth Budge (84), Patrick Henry's Kacey Nelson (84) and Edison's Annabelle Seville (84).