On Monday October 16, Summit’s girls golf team took third place at the Class 3 State Tournament with a score of 713 against 8 qualifying schools.
Golf requires a strong mental game, as golfers need to maintain focus for long periods of time throughout rounds. Sophomore Madison Hall, who placed 42 with a score of 177, believes a good team plays a large factor in winning as well.
“We’re all very close. I mean they’ve been playing together the past 4 years so when I came in I had to start rebuilding everything with them and we actually fit really well together. We’re all super close, we’re basically like sisters and so that bond really helps; we kept each other sane the past few days. Our coach is super relaxed and he doesn’t yell at us, he’s very motivational and he also helps keep us sane during our round whenever we’re freaking out or about to break down. Having him there is really nice reassurance,” Hall said.
This state championship led girl’s varsity golf coach, Corey Choate, into one final victory before he retires from Summit. As for the future of girl’s golf at Summit, Choate said he is looking forward to seeing the progression of the younger talent that he didn’t get to coach all the way through. “This is actually my last year coaching the team, as I coach multiple spo rts at Eureka as well. Our JV team had a great season with tons of young potential. We are graduating 6 great seniors and I hope those younger kids work hard and continue to carry on the success of the program. I’m excited to see who will emerge as the teams’ top players next year,” Choate said.
As one of the graduating seniors Maurissa Thrall, who placed 29 with a score of 166, said in spite of her optimism, knowing this was her final high school performance affected her capabilities.
“I definitely kept a positive mentality through both days but a weakness was letting my last high school season get me emotional in the middle of my rounds,” Thrall said.
Other players that placed include: senior Lilly Poplawski who placed 51 with a score of 182, senior Claire McCarthy who placed 68 with a score of 188, and senior Madeline Gregston who placed 79 with a score of 197.