Isabella RusherFOXFIRE VILLAGE— OCTOBER 30, 2012
Defending champion Isabella Rusher of Salisbury fired the only par round of the entire tournament on Tuesday to pull away and win the individual crown in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s state 1-A/2-A women’s golf championships at the West Course at the Foxfire Resort and Golf Club in Foxfire Village.

Rusher won the championship for the second consecutive year but did so much more easily this time. She won the title by a single shot a year ago, but her even par 71 on Tuesday gave her a 146 total, four over par for the tournament, under cold and blustery conditions. The course was set at par 71 and a 5,765-yard layout for the championship.

North Surry’s Kasey Tolbert had two rounds of 79 for a 158 total, good for second place eight shots back. Rusher’s teammate Grace Yatawara was third at 161, 15 shots out of first.

Defending champion Salisbury, which rolled to the 1-A/2-A team championship a year ago by a whopping 33 shots, really blew the field away this time, winning by an incredible 60 strokes. The Hornets recorded a team score of 244 on Tuesday for a 490 total, with Hendersonville in second at 550. Newport Croatan tied with North Surry for third at 560.

The best three scores of a team counted toward the team totals, and a total of 13 teams and 78 golfers competed in the event, the tenth year that the sport has been classified. It was the second year that three separate championships have been held and the 32nd year for state championship competition in the sport.