It’s not about blue or red for Lincoln-Way East’s Kelly Sterling. The junior standout’s bread and butter is the greens.
Sterling, a two-time champion in the SouthWest Suburban Blue, captured medalist honors in another conference tournament Tuesday — this time, the SouthWest Suburban Red — at Green Garden in Frankfort.
Sterling fired a 2-over-par 74 to run away with the competition. Lincoln-Way North’s Anne Allen, with whom Sterling was paired, finished second with an 83.
“It’s an honor, really, to come in second behind Kelly Sterling,” Allen said. “How she is on the course is a lot different from what you’re used to. Her swing is so perfect, you just want to mirror everything she does.”
Sterling’s card featured a sizzling 2-under 34 on the front nine of Green Garden’s Blue course, which covers 5,187 yards. Her round, though, wasn’t without some adversity.
“I three-putted the first hole,” Sterling said. “But I was fine with that. I followed with some birdies and some good shots. We had a blast out there.”
Sterling said she didn’t feel any pressure to continue her championship run, but there are areas of her game she believes she can improve.
“Maybe I got a little unfocused on the back nine,” she said. “I still shot a 74, but I know I definitely could have done better.”
East topped the scoreboard with a 331 behind contributing scores from third-place finisher Karoline Pirko (84), fourth-place finisher Micaela Petrarca (85) and sixth-place finisher Nicole Huss (86).
Lincoln-Way Central had 371 to take second, with Clara Scheer (89), Mary Yonkaitis (90) and Emily Jones (96) among the top 10. Lincoln-Way North (375) was third in the six-team meet as Rachel Cheval carded an 87 for fifth place individually.
