Out of four local teams, only two were able to finish in the top four and advance in the Division I sectional girls golf tournament, which was held Monday at Tamer Win Golf and Country Club.
Canfield had a team score of 333 to finish second and Howland had a 356 to place fourth in the girls sectional, just two shots ahead of Kent Roosevelt for the final qualifying spot. NDCL won the team event with a 326.
Austintown Fitch finished eighth with a 411 and Boardman shot 414 to place ninth out of 14 teams.
No local individuals finished among the top four out of non-qualifying teams.
Howland girls coach Jack Hutchison said he was pleased the Tigers will be making a return trip to districts.
"It's been about four years since we've been down there, so it's good to be going back," he said.
The district tournament will be Tuesday, Oct. 9 at The Legends in Massillon.
Danielle Nicholson of Geneva shot a one-under par 69 on the par 70, Tamer Win course to win medalist honors. NDCL's Olivia Jereb shot a 76 to place second and Emily Jereb had a 77 to finish third.
The four individual qualifiers were Kasey Nielsen of Roosevelt (78), Kelly Nielsen of Roosevelt (81), Kelly Poe of Kenston (85) and Ravenna's Courtney O'Donnell (85). The highest individual finisher among locals was Rachel Williamson (91).
Canfield's individual scorers were Michele Whiteleather (80), Christina Cooper (81), Lianna Tucci (83) and Olivia DeMartino (89). The individual scores for Howland were Angelica Maggio (83), Haleigh Guerrero (87), Hannah Buzulencia (90) and Mo Preston (96).
"We talked about 360 for a team score; I thought we'd be pretty good with that," Hutchison said. "We bettered that by a little. Our No. 2 player (Maggio) shot 83 with a double bogey on 18. The thing that really helped us was our No. 5 player, Hannah Buzulencia. She shot 45-45-90 and that got us in.
"As a team I thought we did well. We thought 360 might be the magic number and we shot lower than that so I'm very happy."
The top four teams and top four individuals not on qualifying teams will advance from the district tournament to the state tournament. While this is the first trip for this group of Howland golfers, Hutchison has had multiple teams advance to The Legends.
"We've been down there four, five times. It's a great facility," he said. "It's a little longer than we're used to. We're looking forward to being there and doing the best we can."
No local boys teams advanced in the Division I boys sectional, which was held at Candywood Golf Club.
Canfield had the highest finish among local teams, shooting a 317 to place seventh. Boardman was ninth at 322, Harding was 12th with a 343 and Niles finished 15th with a 417.
Brecksville was the sectional champion with a 301, while the other three teams advancing to district were Walsh Jesuit (303), Aurora (304) and Stow (308).
Ian Holt of Stow was the medalist with a 67, and Walsh Jesuit's Chase Johnson was second with a 69. Both have committed to play their college golf at Kent State University.
