State-bound Panthers ready for trip to Ames

BY ANDY KRUTSINGER

Mt. Pleasant News

It was a quiet day at the driving range at East Lake Park on Thursday evening as the Mt. Pleasant girls? golf team reflected on their success this season and looked ahead to the state meet next week in Ames.

The Panthers spoke about the thrills of making it to the state tournament as well as the challenges that lie ahead.

Haley Booton is a senior who head coach Jim Kelly calls the team?s ?leader.? She has experience in two state tournaments and is always one of the top performers on the team. Booton recalled the feeling of adding up the scores in Grinnell and realizing the team had punched their ticket to state.

?I ran up to Anni (Liechty) first and asked ?Anni how?d you do??? she says. ?I was so excited because I knew Anni was coming with an 89 and I knew I was sitting pretty well and Cali (Liechty) was sitting pretty well behind me. Then I talked to Keri (Herr) and I couldn?t contain it anymore.?

The top four Panthers each shot a sub-90 score, a goal coach Kelly had set for the team all season. Herr led with an 84, Booton and C. Liechty scored 86 and A. Liechty finished at 89.

When Booton realized the team had not only finished in the top two, but defeated top-ranked Washington, she could no longer hold her excitement.

?I couldn?t really contain it anymore,? she said with a smile. ?They (the team) were all making fun of me.?

Booton is one of just two seniors on the Mt. Pleasant squad. The other is Ally Lowe, who shot a 102 at the qualifying meet.

?It was pretty surreal,? Ally said about the qualifying meet. ?We got off the course and I saw Haley and she was so excited. She was saying how we had a shot at winning and I just couldn?t believe it.?

Lowe was also a key member of the Mt. Pleasant music department?s play ?Legally Blonde,? another extra-curricular activity that has shared her time with golf and school.

?It?s been really really busy and I haven?t had any down time, but I like it,? says Lowe about her spring schedule. ?It?s fun to be busy.?

Lowe says part of the team?s growth is due to having good competition throughout the season. Conference rivals Washington and Fairfield have been right with the Panthers all season and the three will have one last meet together at the state tournament.

?I actually feel pretty blessed that we?re able to play with such good teams, because it prepares us,? Lowe says. ?We all make each other better golfers. I think it?s going to help us prepare for the state tournament.?

Cali and Anni Liechty bring a family atmosphere to the state qualifying team. Both sisters were a big part of last season?s run at state softball, and they?re ready to do it again in a different sport. Cali was one of the last players to report her scores at the clubhouse in Grinnell and says she found out about the team?s success right away.

?Haley asked me what my score was,? Cali recalls, ?and I went ?86? and she looks me in the eyes and says, ?I think we just beat Washington.??

Cali remembers trying not to act too excited around the other teams when she found out how well the team did.

?You know that feeling where you can?t stop smiling?? she said. ?Well, I tried to stay humble about it.?

Cali says she took a big nap on the ride home from the qualifying meet but does remember seeing the excitement in her head coach.

?Coach Kelly was so excited,? she says. ?I?m pretty sure he was about to cry because he was so happy.?

Cali also spoke about the success of Anni, who is the lone freshman on the team and has made a big impact already this season.

?She?s been doing really good as a freshman,? Cali said. ?I was never that good as a freshman. I always try and push her and encourage her to do her best and she does the same for me.?

The youngest of the two sisters says she?s always liked golf, and her decision to play in high school was partially because of her family members.

?I?ve been golfing ever since I was little and I?ve kind of let it go because of softball,? she says. ?My grandpa always golfed. He was a big imspiration for both of us and Cali was a big part of it too.?

Anni says it wasn?t easy adjusting to the golf swing after playing so much softball, but that she eventually got the hang of it.

?At first I was whiffing every single ball,? she laughed, ?and I was like ?this season?s going to be so bad,? but it turned out really well.?

Two sophomores round out the Panther team. Keri Herr and Chloe Beavers have been grinding out low scores all season.

For Herr, the qualifying meet was one of her top performances of the year. She scored a team best 84, which put her in a three-way tie for the second best score in the entire regional.

?I was pretty nervous at first because we didn?t know for sure if we would actually win,? says Herr, ?and then Haley told me we beat Washington and I was pretty excited.?

While most of the team says it?s an advantage to play alongside rivals Washington and Fairfield, Herr went a step further. She says she has a friendship with one of the Demons, Megan Strabala.

Herr also likes the healthy competition with the school?s two chief rivals, saying the Panthers are better for having the Trojans and Demons to compete with.

?It?s been a challenge, but its kind of fun to have a challenge,? says Herr. ?It makes you better.?

Beavers, who finished at 115 in Grinnell, says the feel of the meet may be more relaxing to play with familiar foes.

?I think it?s going to be easier because we know what we have to do and we?re going to relax and just play,? she says. ?(The season) was great because everybody is so easy to work with. It?s so fun to play with all the other girls in our conference. I?m starting to get to know them all.?

Beavers perked up when asked how fun it is to play under Coach Kelly, who plans on retiring this season from coaching, after ending his 30-plus year teaching career six years ago.

?Oh yes, he?s my favorite,? she said with a big smile. ?He?s the best.?

All six of the Panthers know it will take a big effort to defeat the other seven teams at state, especially their two conference foes, but the Panthers also know it?s important to enjoy their experience at the prestigious event, a thought echoed by their team leader.

?I just hope to get out of my high school career strong,? says Booton about the state meet. ?We have a pretty young team besides Ally and I, so I just hope they have fun and enjoy their first experience there.?

The state meet will take place on Tuesday, May 31 and Wednesday, June 1 with start time of 9 a.m., on both days. Golfers will play 18 holes on both days and be regrouped on Saturday based on their Day 1 scores.