2026 Clutch Sports Media Girls Golf All-Area Team: 35 Central Illinois golfers earn honors

Girls golf in Central Illinois showed off its depth in the 2026 season as multiple teams survived difficult roads to state and made history during the season.

Metamora, Tri-Valley and Bloomington Central Catholic all qualified for state as teams in Class 1A with all three of them making the cut. Metamora brought home its first piece of state hardware in program history by placing third after losing a tiebreaker for second place. Dunlap and Normal U-High made it to state in Class 2A with the Eagles making their state debut as a team and the Pioneers making their 28th state appearance. 

All of those teams and more around Central Illinois are represented on Clutch Sports Media’s second annual Girls Golf All-Area teams, which highlight 35 of the top golfers in CSM’s 39-school coverage area surrounding Peoria and Bloomington/Normal. 

Clutch Sports Media will also have a Girls Golfer of the Year and Coach of the Year which will both be announced shortly. All of the All-Area nominees below are listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Clutch Sports Media All-Area First Team

Caroline Braucht, senior, Bloomington Central Catholic

Braucht led Bloomington Central Catholic to a seventh-place finish at the Class 1A State Finals in her final prep season and accumulated numerous lofty finishes. A CSM All-Area second team selection last year, Braucht tied for 17th at the Class 1A State Finals with rounds of 83 and 76. She won the Class 1A Pontiac Regional with an 81 and placed sixth at the Class 1A Arlington Heights St. Viator Sectional with an 85, leading the Saints to second place at both tournaments. She was the runner-up at the Illini Prairie Conference Tournament with an 83, which helped vault BCC to a team championship. Braucht also recorded top-10 finishes at the Metamora Redbird Classic (2nd), Sam Wells Invite (3rd), Bloomington/Normal Intercity Tournament (5th), Pekin Lady Dragon Classic (T-7th) and Bloomington Central Catholic Saints Shootout (T-7th).

Elle Filarski, senior, Tri-Valley

Filarski finished higher than any area competitor at the Class 1A State Finals and led Tri-Valley to a sixth-place team finish. The senior shot rounds of 80 and 75 at state to tie for 11th, which capped a strong postseason where she won the Class 1A Arlington Heights St. Viator Sectional with a 77 and prevailing in a playoff, as well as taking second at the Class 1A Pontiac Regional with an 82. She led Tri-Valley to regional and sectional titles as a team, as well as the Vikings’ fourth Heart of Illinois Conference championship, where she fired an 83 to win the individual conference title. A CSM All-Area first team selection in 2025, Filarski led Tri-Valley to three regional titles, two sectional titles and three state appearances during her career.

Audrey Hitt, senior, Normal U-High

Hitt was the senior leader for a Normal U-High squad that won conference, regional and sectional titles and qualified for the Class 2A State Finals. Hitt carded rounds of 80 and 79 to tie for 44th in Class 2A in her fourth state appearance. She won the Class 2A Normal U-High Regional with a 79 and placed sixth at the Class 2A Normal Community Sectional with a 76, leading the Pioneers to regional and sectional titles as a team. She also led Normal U-High to a Central State Eight Conference Tournament title by placing second with a 79. Hitt’s other highlights included winning the Bloomington/Normal Intercity and Pontiac Invite title, taking second at the Livingston County Invite and tying for third at the Pekin Lady Dragon Classic and posting an 18-hole scoring average of 78.

Hadley Hitt, sophomore, Normal U-High

The younger sister of Audrey Hitt transformed into a star for the Pioneers and shot rounds of 76 and 78 to tie for 32nd at the Class 2A State Finals. She placed second at the Class 2A Normal U-High Regional with a 83, a score that she matched from the Central State Eight Conference Tournament, where she placed fourth. Hitt helped the Pioneers tie for first at the Lincoln Scramble and won the Bloomington Better Ball Invite alongside her sister. The sophomore posted an 18-hole scoring average of 81, was the Bloomington/Normal Intercity runner-up and placed in the top 10 in the Rochester Invitational, Livingston County Invite, Quincy Notre Dame Raider Invitational and Pontiac Invite. 

Sydney Hunt, senior, Dunlap

Hunt was undoubtedly one of top golfers in Central Illinois and finished her senior season by tying for 26th at the Class 2A State Finals with rounds of 78 and 74. Her efforts helped Dunlap qualify for state as a team for the first time in program history as the Eagles finished eighth in Class 2A. The Eagles’ ace placed second at the Class 2A Normal Community Sectional (74) and Class 2A Galesburg Regional (75) and helped Dunlap win the regional title as a team. Hunt was the Mid-Illini Conference champion with a 71 and was a first team all-Mid Illini Conference selection all four seasons. Hunt, who was a CSM All-Area first team selection last year, racked up several wins, including at the Pekin Lady Dragon Classic, Livingston County Invitational, Geneseo Invitational and Metamora Redbird Classic. 

Addie Mitchell, junior, Metamora

Mitchell enjoyed a big breakout season, which culminated in leading the Redbirds to a third place finish at the Class 1A State Finals and placing 14th at state with a 156 (82-74). The junior finished the season with a flourish, taking third at the Class 1A Cambridge Sectional with an 83 and winning the Class 1A Metamora Regional with a 70, both of which Metamora won as a team. Mitchell shot a 74 to be the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament runner-up and was a first team all-conference selection. She also won Champaign St. Thomas More’s Sam Wells Invite, took third at the Livingston County Invitational and tied for fifth at the Metamora Redbird Classic.

Clutch Sports Media All-Area Second Team

Audrey Aprahamian, senior, Dunlap

Aprahamian was key to helping Dunlap reach new heights and had several top-10 finishes for the Eagles. She took fourth at the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament with a 77 and earned first team all-Mid Illini honors. The Eagles senior placed sixth at the Class 2A Galesburg Regional (82), 24th at the Class 2A Normal Community Sectional (84) and 83rd at the Class 2A State Finals (90-86). Aprahamian also took second at the Geneseo Invitational and placed in the top seven at the Metamora Redbird Classic and Bloomington Central Catholic Saints Shootout. 

Leah Brown, senior, Pekin

Brown was a force for the Mid-Illini champion Dragons and earned first team all-conference honors for the third straight year. The senior placed fourth at the Class 2A Galesburg Regional with a 78 to help Pekin place second as a team and took 30th at the Class 2A Normal Community Sectional with an 86. She fired a 78 to place sixth at the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament to help Pekin win by one stroke over Dunlap. Brown, who was a CSM First Team All-Area selection last year, also tied for third at the Alleman/Rock Island Invite, tied for fourth at the Bloomington Central Catholic Saints Shootout and tied for seventh at the Pekin Lady Dragon Classic. 

Isla Clements, junior, Pekin

Clements took a large step up in her junior season and represented Pekin as an individual at the Class 2A State Finals. The Dragons junior missed the cut at state with an 85, but qualified via an 80 to place 13th at the Class 2A Normal Community Sectional, where Pekin took sixth as a team. Prior to that, Clements had a pair of top-five finishes as she shot an 81 and placed fifth at the Class 2A Galesburg Regional and fired a 77 after a red-hot 37 on the back nine to take fourth at the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament. The first team all-Mid Illini Conference selection also finished second at the Alleman/Rock Island Invite. 

Payton Hays, senior, Morton

Hays had a solid campaign leading a competitive Potters squad and was a first team all-Mid Illini Conference selection. She fired a 79 to take seventh and lead the Potters at the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament and also led Morton at the Class 2A Galesburg Regional with an 83 to take eighth. That score was good enough to qualify for the Class 2A Normal Community Sectional, where she shot an 87 to place 32nd. Hays, who is a four-time all-Mid Illini honoree and three-time first team selection, additionally tied for 12th at the Pekin Dragon Classic and led Morton with a 17th place showing at the Bloomington Central Catholic Saints Shootout.

Elizabeth Nieukirk, senior, Morton

Nieukirk became the first Potters girls golfer to qualify for state as an individual in Class 2A, where she tied for 59th with a 162 (80-82). Her score of 81, which was good enough for 14th, at the Class 2A Normal Community sectional helped her punch her ticket to state and came on the heels of an 11th place showing at the Class 2A Galesburg Regional (86). Nieukirk shot an 80 at the Mid-Illini Conference Tournament to take ninth and was a second team all-conference selection. Her regular season highlights included taking seventh at the Metamora Redbird Classic. 

Gillian Tyra, senior, Metamora

Tyra was a veteran leader for Metamora in the Redbirds’ memorable regional and sectional title-winning season. She was the runner-up at the Class 1A Metamora Regional with a 73 and snagged fifth place at the Class 1A Cambridge Sectional with an 84. She capped her season by carding rounds of 88 and 80 at state to place 32nd. The first team all-Mid Illini Conference selection came in 10th at the conference tournament with an 82 and also added top-10 finishes at the Sam Wells Invite, Metamora Redbird Classic and Livingston County Invitational. 

Clutch Sports Media All-Area Honorable Mention

Kate Andersen, senior, Farmington

Maddie Bierbaum, sophomore, Normal West,

Sydney Braucht, sophomore, Bloomington Central Catholic

Bryn Coulter, sophomore, Peoria Notre Dame

Piper Crispen, sophomore, Metamora

Cate Cummings, junior, Pekin

Nicole Detmers, senior, Brimfield

Bailey Engel, senior, Normal Community

Kennadie Finchum, senior, Olympia

Clara Gregg, junior, Richwoods

Gloria Hayes, sophomore, Richwoods

Josie Heffron, senior, Peoria Notre Dame

Maura Huber, junior, Peoria Notre Dame

Izzy Mayes, senior, Tri-Valley

Lexi Neely, senior, El Paso-Gridley

Caitlin Newman, junior, Normal Community

Kendall O’Connor, junior, Normal U-High

Norah O’Leary, sophomore, Dunlap

Lorelai Smith, sophomore, Tri-Valley

Abby Stokes, freshman, Bloomington Central Catholic

Ella Streitmatter, junior, Dunlap

Margaret Wargo, senior, Tri-Valley

Natalie Zimmerman, junior, Metamora