‘We All Tried Our Best’ — Badin Barely Misses State Berth After Fourth-Place Showing In D-I District Tournament
Badin High School's Leah Martinkovic tees off Oct. 6, 2026, during the Division I district girls golf tournament at Heatherwoode Golf Club in Springboro.
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By Rick Cassano
SPRINGBORO – When the battle was finally over, Badin High School’s girls golf team was left to ponder what might have been.
The top three squads in the Division I district tournament earned state berths Tuesday at Heatherwoode Golf Club … and the Rams finished fourth by 1 stroke.
It was a tearful, agonizing ending for a Badin unit that came to Heatherwoode unbeaten in duals and tournaments this year. The finality of it all was tough to accept for Taylor Zoz and Leah Martinkovic, the Rams’ only two seniors.
“We had been having so many great rounds in a row and then to just have that happen was kind of disheartening,” Zoz said. “But we gave it our all. We all tried our best. We put our hearts into the game. We just weren’t on our game.”
“It was an emotional day because we all wanted it so bad,” Martinkovic said. “We’re grateful for everyone on our team and our season overall. We just wish we had a little bit more.”
Badin’s scores weren’t terrible, just not what was needed to advance to the state tournament at NCR Country Club in Kettering next week.
The Rams shot 339 on the par-71 Heatherwoode course to finish behind Sycamore (323), Lakota East (329) and Anderson (338). Zoz placed 11th individually with a 38-42—80 score, while Martinkovic tied for 19th at 46-39—85.
Qualifying for state as individuals were Lebanon’s Olivia Donovan (38-38—76), Milford’s Ellie Fight (39-37—76) and Springboro’s Elise Dunkle (38-39—77).
“A couple slips here and there and all of a sudden it’s gone,” Badin coach Mike Wolf said. “Every player had their chances, and it just didn’t work out. When we lost by 10 last year, nobody expected us to get that close. Now to get even closer and come up 1 stroke short, it does sting.”
This is the Rams’ third year in Division I and they took fifth place in the district last year, finishing 10 shots behind the last state-qualifying team.
The Rams knew the team race was going to be tight, but it was difficult to know the exact totals down the stretch because the online scoring system is typically not updated as quickly as the competitors would like.
“Coach Mike told us no matter what you do, don’t look at the leaderboard,” Zoz said. “He didn’t even want the thought in our head of, ‘Are we making it? Are we not?’ But we took peeks at it. It’s hard not to look when you have to put in your score, so we all could kind of tell that we were close.
“I didn’t look for like the last four holes because I just didn’t want to know. I had a triple bogey I think on 15 and I was like, ‘I just can’t look at it anymore,’ so I stopped.”
Zoz struggled on the last hole with a double-bogey 6, hitting a tree and finding a sand trap. She two-putted from about 60 feet away from the hole.
“None of that hole was great,” Zoz said. “Emmy and Lexi were there on the ground intently watching me putt and Coach Mike was going to man the pin so he could take it out if the 60-footer was going to go in, so I could tell it was a really serious putt.
“As soon as I got up to putt, all I could think was don’t leave it short, just give it a chance. So I hit it hard and it went about 5 feet past. When I made the second putt, I just said to Coach Mike, ‘We’re not going to state, are we?’ He’s like, ‘No,’ and I just started crying.
“It’s not like it was on me to do it because we all had holes that we messed up on, but coming down to 1 shot, it’s tough. Everybody was crying. The van ride home was not fun.”
Wolf said Heatherwoode’s closing stretch of holes on the back nine made it hard for the Rams to go lower on the scorecard.
“Lakota East and Anderson started on the back and finished on the front, where it’s a little easier to make birdies and pars,” Wolf said. “But we played the same holes when we were on the front. That was up to us to take advantage of those holes when we were there.
“Our girls had a lot of fight in them all the way to end. There was some terrific play at the 17th, but each one of them let a couple holes slip through their hands. They realize it’s not one person that loses. It’s a team sport.”
Leah Martinkovic’s 39 on the back nine was among the day’s best efforts on that side. She was happy with that, but said her 46 on the front was unacceptable.
“I definitely think I could’ve done so much better,” Martinkovic said. “Nobody was on their best game.”
“I think the most emotional part for us was that we all could’ve done better,” Zoz said. “I’m extremely proud that we played and handled ourselves. We weren’t sore losers. We tried our best to be very respectful about it.”
Martinkovic said some coaches and players from other teams were complimentary of Badin’s season. She got some texts that said the Rams were deserving of a trip to state.
Martinkovic came a long way during her Badin career. She was the No. 4 player on the junior varsity team as a freshman and No. 4 on the varsity as a sophomore
“Jumping from JV to varsity was obviously a big change for me, but I really enjoyed it,” Martinkovic said. “I know for sure this season is the closest the team has been. I’m sure other teams have it, but I’m going to be biased and say I think we have the best chemistry. We talk all the time outside of golf. It’s not like we see each other just because of golf. We see each other because we’re friends.”
Martinkovic wants to play in college, but she doesn’t know if that will happen or not. Martinkovic plans to pick a school based on academics, and if she’s able to play at that level, it’ll be great. She said club golf will be an option if she isn’t playing for her school.
Zoz has decided not to play at the next level, though she plans to stay active in the sport recreationally.
She qualified for districts all four years as a Ram and found some tough luck when she got there.
In 2023, Zoz placed fourth and was 1 shot behind the last individual state qualifier in Division II.
In 2024, Zoz finished 20th, 8 shots behind the last individual state qualifier in Division I.
In 2025, Zoz tied for fourth place and came up short of a Division I state berth after a three-player playoff.
This year, Zoz was 3 shots away from the last individual state qualifier.
“I wouldn’t trade all the memories that I had and all the things that I had for going to state, but I am sad that I never went,” Zoz said. “But I tried my hardest. I did all that I could. I left everything on the course. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be, but that’s OK. I’m fine with it.”
Zoz said falling short of state as a team was painful because this was Badin’s best shot to qualify with an experienced squad. The Rams will return five of their seven varsity players next year, but it will be very hard to replace Zoz and Leah Martinkovic.
“I’m so thankful for these past four years and it makes me emotional to think that it’s over, but I’m just so happy that I was a part of it and I chose to play golf at Badin,” Zoz said. “I’m proud to be one of the people that gets to represent the golf team.
“I think it’s such an amazing thing that we’ve all built together. With the camaraderie and all the people and all the memories I’ve made, I would be a completely different person if I didn’t play on this team.”
Wolf said the players need to focus on the school history they made this year and not on the difficult ending.
“When you walk into the gym, there’s banners for all those sports teams,” Wolf said. “When you look under girls golf, there’s nothing noted. But this year’s team is going to say 2026 under the sectionals and the (Greater Catholic League Coed Division). That’s what they’ve done. Those numbers will be up there because of them.”
Zoz and Martinkovic both said a source of pride in the last part of the season was a victory over the Badin boys team in their annual Senior Night scramble. The match was filled with serious golf and plenty of hijinks.
“Put that on the record,” Martinkovic said. “We beat the boys again this year.”
“It was one of our most competitive matches by far,” Zoz said. “We brought a whiteboard to rate their shots out of 10. We were playing songs in their backswings. We were doing anything we could to win.”
