The Saline High School girls golf team shuffled up to the awards table after the Chelsea invitational, accepting small medals, a plaque and a smattering of applause by the slew of other teams in attendance.

It was exciting -- a second-place finish in the first tournament of the year, with the Hornets' six-person lineup still taking shape -- but the moment was just a tad bittersweet.

The final tally showed Saline with 340 strokes. Exciting, because every golfer came in under 100. But Lansing Catholic Central snuck away with a one-stroke team win (339).

"It's a good lesson for this team, because we've talked about how every stroke counts," Saline coach Betsy French said. "And now they saw that."

Shannon Fraser, the Hornets' No. 2 golfer, shot a team-low 82.

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"I worked really hard this summer, so I really wanted to start strong this season," she said. "It was great to play so well right off the bat."

Saline's No. 1 player, Karla Gross, got off to a rougher start. Although she had a personal goal of shooting in the 70s in every competition this season, she shot an 87 on Thursday.

But she showed her fierce competitive nature on the back nine, where she improved nine strokes.

"That's what you want to see in a great competitor," French said. "She had a hard day, but she fought back."

While French was excited to see Fraser and Gross perform at the top of the leaderboard, she expected it from the leaders. French was more curious about how the two freshmen in the lineup -- Emily White and Stacy Cruze, who competed in the fifth and sixth spots, respectively -- played in their first-ever varsity competition.

Although nerves were obviously a factor, White shot a 99 and Cruze a 95.

"I really didn't know what to expect from them," French said. "But they really stepped it up today."

Saline's Kristen Arredy and Morgen Horan added to the scoring with an 83 and 88, respectively.

Sarah Schultz shot an 88 to lead host Chelsea (380) to a fourth-place finish at the 10-team event. Dexter, which got a 90 from Liz So, was sixth with a 399. Greenhills finished seventh with a 407 and Lincoln 10th with a 460.

Greenhills coach Bill Ammerman was pleased with his team's score. Allie Bunch led the Gryphons with an 86.

"We're a really inexperienced team this year," he said. "Our goal today was to break 400, and we were close. ... Everyone was a little nervous since it was the first time, but it was really encouraging."

First-year Chelsea coach Trisha McKim saw a lot of potential in her young team, especially after the countless lessons and rounds of golf the Bulldogs put in this summer.

"I'm really excited for this season, because there's so much potential and a lot of room for growth," said McKim. "We need to work on our short game, but I know the scores are going to drop as the season goes on."

Jackson Northwest's Kelsey Carney was the individual medalist with a 79.