Demons girls golf dominant

There are signs that proclaim state championships at the main highways into Washington.

Those signs are dominated by girls golf teams. Of the 10 championships listed, five are girls golf. Of those five, three were from 2015 to 2018 and the one year that wasn't a title was a third-place finish.

Len Kull has been coaching girls golf since the program started in 1980 and he is especially proud of the last four years.

'In my opinion, Sarah Nacos is the most outstanding female athlete Washington has had in a long time,” he said.

The now-retired chemistry teacher also wants it known how important the other golfers in that span were.

'Much of our success can be contributed to their efforts,” Kull said. 'While it is an individual sport, I emphasize the team.”

They include Sarah Waite, Deanna Peiffer, Brenna Burlingame, Meredith Lumberg, Carly Burlingame, Emily Waite and Kaitlyn Mitchell. Last year's champs also included Josie Tanner, Kiki Guo and Anna Nacos.

'Their scores would have counted at state no matter what team they played on in the tournament,” Kull said. 'That is quite an accomplishment.”

Last year's seniors - Sarah Nacos, Megan Strabala and Allison Vogel - were the rocks of the success of the last four years.

'Allison was shy and introverted when she started as a sophomore but really blossomed over the three years,” Kull said. 'She improved her game and needs to be commended for it.”

Strabala golfed all four years and got her scores into the 40s.

'Her work ethic was crucial to our success,” Kull said. 'A lot of our team success was because of her efforts.”

Then there is Sarah Nacos, owner of three individual state titles, countless awards from major newspapers and recognition across the state. She now attends and plays golf for Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.

'She is a phenom in my eyes,” Kull said. 'Her body of work and success is almost without rival in this state.”

The one time she didn't win the individual state title, she finished third. She had the state's second-best average over the season.

'Sarah was an athlete, dedicated, a team leader and she had an edge to her,” Kull said. 'She was adamant about competition. She would bite your leg off if it would help her and that's why she was so good.”

Anna Nacos' average was fourth and Guo's was fifth. Strabala's was 20th in the state.

'Josie and Allison were in the 30s overall in the state,” Kull said. 'That's quite a remarkable deal. They had the lowest average score as a team as anybody in the state.”

Success breeds success.

'I don't want to use the term ‘supporting cast' because our three freshman last year just melded right in with the three seniors and off they went,” Kull said. 'Carly and Emily were with them so we had eight. Sometimes they played on varsity. It was a team thing and a great team they were. It was a close-knit team.”

Kull said he was lucky enough to be selected as the coach when the program started in 1980. In the third year of the program, the Demons finished second in the state.

'Of the 38 years I have been coach, I think we have had at least an individual if not the team at the state tournament in 20 of those years.”