We Be Clubbin’

The girls golf team strives for state and bonds with one another!

We+Be+Clubbin

Suzanne Loomis, Reporter

Since Saint Thomas Aquinas high school first opened in 1988, they have won well over 100 state titles. Girls Golf claims 13 of those championships, and gave STA their first ever state title in 1992. Girls Golf has been a vital part of STA’s athletic program and is a great way to get involved. The girls spend long days together on the course and, for a few months of the year, they are a second family to each other and frequently hang out with one another outside of practice and tournaments. Being together almost everyday strengthens the team’s bond and creates a positive atmosphere. 

The team is small in numbers with only 14 members. Senior Lilly Ellwanger has been sitting out the majority of the season due to an arm injury, but she is due to return soon and we can’t wait to see where she takes the golf team! Senior Audrey Seck has had her best season to date. This is her second year on Varsity and has truly been a vital member of the girls golf team. Sophomore Katherine Adkins has shown up and showed out both of her years on the team. She started her freshman year making varsity and carried the team to better standings. This season she is ranked 8th in EKL and is striving for state. Caroline Dervin, Audrey Seck, Hailey Selock, and Sloan Jacobson also all have individual standings in EKL and are aiming for state.

Along with teaching Theology at Saint Thomas Aquinas, Ryan Best coaches the girls and boys golf teams. He has been coaching for over twenty-five years and, in 2010, Coach Best was selected as the National High School Association Girls Golf Coach of the Year. To say the accomplishment was deserved would be  understatement. Coach Best takes much of his own personal time and energy into supporting the girls, he is a great listener, and he always encourages the team to play with a positive attitude that will influence their game. Audrey Seck said that “Coach Best does a really great job of making golf more than a sport and more of a way to work on a positive mentality that applies outside of golf”. JV coach Sharon Henes has been working with the team since 2014. She is always there with a joke, with advice for just about anything, and with a song request during the long car rides to tournaments. Coach Henes also puts tremendous amounts of effort into the team and often has to take time away from her personal job to attend tournaments with the girls.

An exciting new addition this year is that STA purchased new suburbans to transport teams. The golf girls are grateful for these new additions since the old ones had sticky seats and a radio that didn’t work, which made car rides extremely long. You can catch the golf team at Chick-Fil-A or QuikTrip post practice. The team’s favorite snacks include: goldfish, fruit snacks, and, most importantly, energy drinks to get through those tough courses. Make sure to wish the girls luck if you see them in the hallways!