The lady Bulldogs golf team continued a successful 2 year streak of winning the NE8 Conference Championship recently at Pine Lakes under the coaching of Dean Shanower, math teacher and coach. An introduction to the girls who made this possible consists of seniors DJ Godfrey and Izy Ash, junior girls Angelique Adkins, Parker Morris, Malea Smith, Allie Williams, Mackenzie Totten, Merrick Hults, sophomore Madeline Isenberg and Oliva Norris and finally, freshman Bayleigh Wistar. Each girl getting the recognition, each girl putting hours upon hours on the course weekly and leaving it all in each match, especially the NE8.
Though only 5 out of the 11 girls on this team competed in the NE8, every match beforehand contributed to where this team is now. Swinging with their heart and soul at each match at their home course, Tamer Win, or away matches at golf courses around the county. They’ve come together as a team, relying on one another to put their best swing forward no matter what. Golf, being a sport where rigorous practice is required for skill, is just as much a mental sport. These girls have and are trying to overcome mental blockages that come with this game. Mental focus and resilience is required to be successful. You must only look forward from your last swing in order to improve, not dwelling on a bad shot which we will hear from the top scoring girls in the NE8 from the lady Bulldogs.
Competing in the NE8 this year were our seniors, Godfrey scoring a 104 with 3 pars, Ash with a 123, junior Morris scoring a 96 with 3 pars and an impressive birdie and finally, sophomore Isenberg scoring a 89 with 3 pars and a birdie and Norris scoring an 83 with 7 pars and 2 birdies! All of these girls had an incredible round full of birdies and pars, but we’re going to highlight and take a deeper dive into the girls, Isenburg and Norris, the top two scores in this tough round.
Norris put her all into this NE8 match as she does every time she steps foot onto the course. She impressively captured 2nd place out of the 35 golfers competing! This is a very impressive accomplishment that Norris managed to do. Regardless of Norris being a great golfer, she has rough shots too, just as anyone else would.
Norris was asked, how do you reset after a bad hole or shot, to which she responded the wise words of “I just take the thought of the shot out of my head and just worry about the next hit after.” This is very important to the game of golf and this mindset is what leads teams to championships.
Isenburg bringing a successful 89 to this match with her skill and determination for the game helped the team tremendously in the fight for the NE8. Isenburg was asked what hole challenged you the most during the NE8 to which she replied, “The first hole for the NE8 was the hardest because of nerves and anxiety, after that it was a lot of fun.” Isenberg showed us the reality of nerves before matches but also her score demonstrates that you can’t let it get to you, it’s important to enjoy the journey.
Though these girls are incredible golfers, it’s important to acknowledge the man behind the team, Dean Shanower. Shanower is the proud coach to these lady Bulldogs and the reason these girls push as hard as they do.
Shanower was asked how does it feel to coach such a successful golf team in regards to them winning the NE8 two years in a row, to which he returned the proud response of “it feels incredibly rewarding to coach such a dedicated group of athletes. Winning the NE8 two years in a row is a reflection of the girls’ hard work, commitment, and growth as a team. I’m proud of how they support one another, compete with integrity, and represent Lakeview with class. The success belongs to the players, and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to guide them along the way.”
The title of NE8 champions for these lady golfers is just nicking the surface of what their determination, resilience and ability are able to accomplish. It’s a display of the time spent practicing, critiquing swings and getting better at every aspect of golf that got them here. These girls will continue showing out with every swing at every match to complete this season as it reaches its end. The Lady Bulldogs Golf team at Lakeview Highschool is one to beat!
