Megan Hertter, left, with Marshall County coach Aaron Beth looking over a tee shot at Eagle's Nest. Herterr shot 78 while Madisonville's Kaitlyn Zeiba, right, had a 76. (Larry Vaught Photo)
Marshall County had never won a girls’ state high school golf championship until last season. But don’t be surprised in October if the Marshals make it a repeat. I made a trip to Somerset last week to watch Marshall play in the Lady Maroon Invitational at Eagle’s Nest Country Club. I was expecting to be impressed since the Marshals returned all five players that played in last year’s state tourney but I came home way more impressed than I imagined.
Coach Aaron Beth’s team is really good. However, what impressed me was the demeanor the players had. They were all so business-like and also so open to coaching/suggestions from Beth.
“They really are all good girls and really do listen because they all want to do well,” Beth said.
The team is doing well. The Marshals won 11 of 12 tournaments in 2020 and this year Marshall has won all but one tournament — and in that event they tied for first but lost a playoff/fifth score decision in the Dunbar Lady Bulldog Classic. They shot a school-record 285 at CrossWinds Golf Course in Bowling Green when eighth-grader Trinity Beth, the coach’s daughter, had a school-record 65.
Trinity Beth was not quite that good Saturday when I watched but she still took medalist honors with an even-par 7. Teammates Savannah Howell was next with a 72 and Megan Hertter had a 78. Howell and Herterr are seniors headed to Western Kentucky and Florida Southern, respectively.
Beth was fourth in last year’s state tourney, Howell fifth, and Hertter 16th. All three have won tournaments this year.
“They all get along great and I rotate who plays No. 1 because on any given day any of them could have the best score,” Aaron Beth said.
That’s because all three have length off the tee but also almost always seem to find the fairways. I was also impressed with the way all three could stroke the ball on the greens.”
Marshall won the title last year by 39 shots by destroying the field on the second day. Freshman Katie Roberts was 37th in last year’s state and junior Elsie Riley was 69th. Riley had an 82 at Eagle’s Nest while Roberts did not play — she stayed home to practice with her new clubs. Seventh-grader Cecelia Ray rounded out the Marshall scoring at Somerset with an 86.
“I don’t know who the fourth and fifth players will be for us in the postseason,” Aaron Beth said. “All three (Roberts, Riley, and Ray) are pushing each other and that’s good for us as a team.”
The Lady Maroon Invitational had some other top players as well. Defending state champion Macey Brown of Apollo shot a 77. Madisonville teammates Kaitlyn Zeiba (she tied for 16th at the 2020 state) and Karra Tucker had rounds of 76 and 77.
The day’s third-best round was a 74 by Nina McMurtrey and Paintsville’s Izzy Christie, 13th at the state last year, shot 78.
“There are a lot of good golfers in the state,” the Marshall coach said. “We know we cannot take anything for granted and our players understand that. We try to test them all we can in these invitationals. Playing on different courses and having to get around courses in different ways makes them all better players and hopefully pays off for us again at the end of the season.”
