Everything you need to know about Milwaukee-area teams and players in the WIAA girls golf state tournament

What: The 54th annual WIAA girls golf state championship.

When: Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 13-14, 8 a.m.

Where:University Ridge Golf Course, Madison.

Tickets: Tickets are available for purchase on the WIAA website through its ticketing partner, GoFan.

Broadcasts: The ninth and 18th holes will be streamed live without a subscription on the NFHS Network or WIAA.tv.

Results: Go to wiaawi.org.

2024 champions

Division 1: Team – Divine Savior Holy Angels; Individual – McKenna Nelson, Beaver Dam/Wayland Academy.

Division 2: Team – Edgewood; Individual – Belle Kongshaug, Colfax/Elk Mound.

Teams to beat

Division 1: Two-time defending state champion Divine Savior Holy Angels leads the latest Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin Division 1 rankings, followed in order by fellow qualifiers Brookfield East, Middleton, Bay Port, Arrowhead, DeForest and Waukesha North/South/West.

Division 2: Colfax/Elk Mound, led by twice-reigning individual D2 champion Belle Kongshaug, leads the latest GCAW D2 rankings. Fellow state qualifiers follow in the order of Spooner, Edgerton, Seymour and Wisconsin Dells.

Area teams in the field

Arrowhead

Arrowhead will make its 24th program appearance at state and third in the past four years. A senior-heavy group is led by rising sophomore Addison Johannes making her second state appearance in as many seasons. Upperclassmen Nina Lang, Gabby Sobek and Addie Krug-Trost round out the top four scorers with junior Evelyn Grieve-Waite also contributing. Lang is the leading returner from state last year, having finished tied for 22nd at University Ridge in 2024.

Brookfield East

Led by two-time D1 individual runner-up Payton Haugen, East is making its fifth straight WIAA state tournament appearance and sixth in program history. The Spartans did finish 14 strokes back of DSHA in the Beaver Dam Sectional, but they have a good mix of senior leadership from Haugen and Emma Holzmacher, as well as some rising stars in Elizabeth Zuniga-Meyer, Talulah Peterson and Shivani Sharma. Good days from the latter half of that top five could help East shave a few strokes and contend for a team title.

Divine Savior Holy Angels

DSHA followed a program-first title in 2023 with a historic repeat in 2024, and with a couple key leaders returning in 2025 the Dashers have a great chance to make it three in a row. Last year's fifth-place individual, Zoe Gryniewicz, is a junior this fall. Sisters Addison and Ava Roesch continued to push each other to greater heights this year, as both the sophomore Addison and senior Ava could be threats to finish in the top 10 individuals. Sophomore Julia Krueger is looking to build upon a finish of 20th at state in her freshman campaign, and fellow second-year player Julia Sortino would lead a lot of other programs with her play down the stretch. All five finished in the top 13 at the Beaver Dam Sectional to lead a 14-stroke victory over Brookfield East for the sectional title.

Franklin

It has been a breakthrough season for Franklin, which makes the program's third WIAA state appearance and first since 2017. The program also has not sent an individual golfer to state since Claire Fugate finished tied for 32nd in 2020. The Sabers won their 2025 host sectional by 16 strokes over Milton and the rest of the field, led by individual finishes of second from sophomore Josie Johnston, fourth from senior Emily Dolkiewicz, fifth from freshman Ava Daniels and 11th from junior Gabi Boisvert. Finishing the season at state represents a valuable experience for the program to build upon going forward.

Waukesha North/South/West

The Waukesha Co-op will make its first appearance at WIAA state since 2007 and fifth under its present structure of programs. Sophomore Reagan Piacsek, who tied for 33rd individually as a freshman making her state debut, returns with a bunch of experienced golfers behind her. The program tied Arrowhead at 326 strokes for the sectional title, led by a fourth-place individual finish from Piacsek and seventh from junior Mackenzie Wegner. Seniors Viviana Hruby (14th) and Emma Bichler (22nd) rounded out scorers at the sectional.

Other area individuals to watch

Lola Appleby, fr., Homestead: The freshman will make her state debut after finishing third individually with her score of 75 at the Beaver Dam Sectional, which was three strokes off reigning state individual champion McKenna Nelson and two off reigning runner-up Payton Haugen.

Addie Darrow, sr., University School of Milwaukee: Darrow tied for second individually with Seymour's Lyla Schueler at the Seymour Sectional to earn her first WIAA state individual qualification, shooting a score of 85 led by an event-best 37-stroke back nine.

Kate Forton, sr., St. Thomas More: Forton is also making her state debut in D2 after edging out a crowded race at the Seymour Sectional for the third and final individual qualifying spot. Forton won a playoff over Luxemburg-Casco's Reese Bandow to secure the spot after both shot 90 over 18 holes, which was one stroke ahead of two other competitors vying for a qualifying spot.

Ashley Greenhill, jr., Slinger: The junior makes her D1 state debut after beating out Menomonee Falls senior Maeve Niemiec by two strokes for the final individual qualifying spot with her score of 83 at the Beaver Dam Sectional.

Olivia Kalbfell, so., Kenosha Tremper: Kalbfell and Janesville Craig senior Alexis Hanson beat out Oak Creek sophomore Olivia Fialla for the second and third qualifying spots in the Franklin Sectional after all three finished their rounds tied at 92 strokes. This will be Kalbfell's WIAA state debut.

Sydney Koetterhagen, sr., Catholic Memorial: After finishing 11th in D2 in her WIAA state debut as a junior, Koetterhagen earned her way back to state individually with a score of 88 at the Prairie School Sectional that took the third and final qualifying spot.

Rita Kuepper, jr., Hartford Union: Kuepper was a podium threat after day one of her WIAA state debut as a sophomore in D1 last year, starting tied for fourth in day two before dropping to a tie for 11th. She earned her way back to state for another shot at the podium with a medalist score of 72 at the Waukesha South Sectional, led by a back nine score of 34 that was tied for the event best.

Aubrey Molaison, so., Lake Country Lutheran: After taking fourth individually in her state debut as a freshman, Molaison is back as a leading contender for D2 medalist. She won the Seymour Sectional by nine strokes to lead a team effort that finished just 11 strokes shy of the second team qualifying spot.

Abbie Welch, sr., Brookfield Central: Welch finished 30th in D1 while making her state debut as a junior in 2024 and will look to make a leap in the standings with a strong finish to her career. Her score of 78 at the Waukesha South Sectional tied her with Union Grove's Alana Keevers, earning both the final two qualifying spots out of the sectional. Welch's back nine of 34 tied Kuepper for the event best.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: WIAA state girls golf championship preview, players and teams to watch