This competition season, the Lady Noles golfers put their best foot forward. Their dream team–Nicole Wilkes, Cameron Spellman, Ifaseeyen Oyewale, Morgan Peschong, and Kayla Smith—worked together to earn the prestigious title of District Runners-Up, maintaining their three-year streak.  

This success follows weeks of hard work and preparation. The team meets three to four times a week, focusing on skill work. Through training, the team recognizes their strengths and weaknesses and work to improve. Mental preparation and strategizing of routines is also key to victory.

“Obviously we would love to be District Champions, but we are doing some things to get towards that goal. Our girls are high character, strong students, and just enjoyable to coach. At the end of the day I appreciate them and all they do to make SHS a better place,” said Coach Michael Kintz.

Golf, an underrated sport at SHS, is unique due to its individuality. Players perform independently, without a team to rely on. However, despite playing solo, the Lady ‘Noles still benefit from team support, which fuels them to score and play their best. They look forward to the appreciation of their teammates, as well as the laughter that arises.

“I like how I can joke around with my team and how my team feels like family. Like everyone’s so supportive and has such a positive outlook on things,” said junior Kayla Smith.

After their success, the team headed towards their regional tournament, where they placed fifth. While this placement did not qualify them for States, SHS’s individual players performed admirably. Emily Felix placed in the Top 20 athletes, leading her to earn a scholarship at Lee University in Tennessee. 

This was sophomore Nicole Wilkes‘ first all-team conference, which taught her about the powerful, hardworking mentality behind golf.

“[In golf] when you have a bad shot, all you can do is forget about it. When it’s just you out there, it can be difficult sometimes. Overall, the team did a pretty good job! Everyone tried their hardest and continued to stay positive,” said Wilkes.  

Even though there were some minor fallbacks at Districts, the team stayed positive and strong-minded throughout the game, pushing forward and finishing as Runners-Up at Districts. Looking forward, they aspire to earn a cumulative team GPA of 3.75, place first at Districts, and qualify for States.