Ruby Haylock of Leavitt is the 2018 Sun Journal All-Region Golfer of the Year. (Sun Journal photo by Andree Kehn)

Ruby Haylock transitioned to the high school golf season well with a nine-hole scoring average of 39.8, leading Leavitt in its return to the high school golf scene after a multiple-year absence.

The freshman’s performance this season was so outstanding that she is the 2018 Sun Journal All-Region Golfer of the Year.

“I absolutely loved it, we were pretty successful as a team,” Haylock said. “We did better than we thought we would since we were competing in Class A. We all had tons of fun.”

Haylock, who has competed on Maine’s junior and women’s golf scene during the past few summers, said it was different playing match play and stroke play at the same time during the high school season.

“It was a little stressful, but you had keep your head in the game the whole time, even if you didn’t do well on that one hole — you still could pick it up by the end of the round,” Haylock said. “I had to constantly remind myself, ‘Hey, that’s OK, just keep going.’”

She had to grind at the state individual championships, at which she finished second to Greely’s Rachael Smith. Haylock said it wasn’t her best day, and she ended up finishing three shots behind Smith, who shot 6-over to win the title.

“I am a little disappointed in myself because my putting was so off,” Haylock said. “That made me struggle a lot that day. If I could have gotten that on point like it normally is, then I could have pulled myself together. I am still happy for Rachael, and we had a lot of fun playing together — that was the first time we got to play together during the high school season.”

As Leavitt’s No. 1 golfer, Haylock also went head-to-head with some of the state’s top boys. She held her own against Cole Anderson, the three-time Class A individual champion who is committed to play at Florida State on a golf scholarship. Anderson won both matchups, 31 to 37 in their first meeting and 35 to 38 victory in the regular-season finale.

“I definitely enjoyed it. He’s so much fun to play against,” Haylock said. “It was competitive, but it was also fun at the same time. He played really well the first (time) I played him, and I feel like I did, too. The second time I played him, he wasn’t as good as the first time, his game was a little off that day. I didn’t play as well either, but I was thinking maybe I could get him this time.”

Ruby Haylock of Leavitt follows her tee shot on the 13th hole during the state championship tournament in October. (Portland Press Herald photo by John Ewing)