INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – With their entire roster returning and the taste of Nevada 2A division State Championship victory still fresh, the Incline High School (IHS) Girls Golf Team has their sights set on building a dynasty. 

“You just got to show up and play and see what happens,” said Coach Sam Canino, who has led the team for two years. “Coming up next for the team, hopefully all the girls play golf over the intervening months and maybe even recruit one or two more players and come back next year even stronger looking to establish a dynasty.” 

The journey began with an unexpected challenge of finding enough players to field a complete team. 

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While returning players Chloe Greer, Chase Crutchfield, and Ashley Simonov formed a strong core, the team needed at least one more player to post competitive team scores. 

Enter Georgia Stembridge and Katie McKean, two newcomers who had barely held golf clubs before joining the team. 

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“For all intents and purposes, we had two brand new golfers on the team,” Canino said. “They improved just an incredible amount throughout the season.” 

That improvement was crucial at the state tournament, held at Ruby View Golf Course in Elko on Oct. 16-17. After the first day of competition, IHS was eight strokes behind their main rivals, North Tahoe High School. North Tahoe dominated them by 40 strokes at the regional tournament weeks earlier. 

The second day brought more challenges, when a lightning storm halted play after six holes. This forced the teams to wait in the clubhouse for 45 minutes. With daylight fading, there was real worry that they wouldn’t be able to complete the round, Canino said. That would have handed the title to North Tahoe based on the first-day scores. 

“After the first day at state, we were definitely concerned about our scores,” the team said in a statement. “We all felt like we did not play to our full potential, and we were 8 strokes behind our rivals, North Tahoe.” 

When play resumed, there was sideways snow, freezing temperatures, and winds gusting to 30 mph. 

“At the end of the second day, we had hope, but could not be sure if we won until all the scores were posted,” the team said in a statement. 

IHS team persevered. 

“I really can’t believe that the girls played as well as they did in those conditions,” Canino said. 

When the scores were being posted, the team did some calculations. 

“We only really realized that we had won at the last minute,” Canino said. “The tournament director was writing the scores up on the board, and we started to do a little math, and we realized ‘oh my gosh,’ we won the tournament!” 

In addition, they won the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association academic state team award for having the highest-grade point average in 2A girls’ golf. Their GPA was 3.92. 

The players’ individual placements at the state tournament were Chloe Greer 3rd, Ashley Simonov 8th, Chase Crutchfield 12th, Georgia Stembridge 13th, and Katie McKean 15th. 

Leading the team throughout the season was junior Greer, who consistently posted the team’s best scores. 

“Having a player that’s that good and that committed to the game is really good for the rest of the team,” Canino said. “It gives them kind of an example of what it looks like to play really smart and effectively.” 

The team’s success was a collective effort. Simonov, known for her steady presence, and Crutchfield, brought energy to the team. Newcomers Stembridge and McKean had improved so much that either of their scores would have still resulted in a team victory, Canino said. 

In 2025, all five players plan to return. 

“We hope to perform well next season and do not take this win for granted,” the team said in a statement. “We will come back with even more discipline and motivation in the 2025 season.”