Nacos claims individual title in first state meet, as three Demons take All-State honors

It?s hard to make more of an impact than Sarah Nacos did in Marshalltown.

The Washington freshman helped lead the Demons in a state title bid, and made some history along the way.

Nacos carded two sub-80 rounds in her first state meet to claim the first individual girls? golf state title in school history.

?It means the world,? Nacos said. ?I love these girls, and I couldn?t ask for a better group of girls to play golf with. We have great team camaraderie and I love them. I didn?t expect this. You always expect yourself to do well, but this was a great accomplishment. It was definitely unexpected.?

Nacos used rounds of 78 and 77 to win the individual title by seven strokes over Fairfield?s Lindsey Repp.

?She?s an outstanding talent and a superb young lady as well,? Washington head coach Leonard Kull said. ?I knew pretty early along that I hadn?t seen anybody with that kind of background. Her accomplishment is one that doesn?t happen very often and she?s set some high goals for herself going forward.?

After the first round, Nacos found herself in a tie for first with Repp, and said it was a little nerve-racking to sleep on the lead.

?It?s a good feeling, but you get really nervous,? Nacos said. ?You just have to take a few deep breaths, and realize that it?s just another round of golf. You just have to play your game and do your best, and everything will be OK.?

The freshman turned the nerves into a positive, improving her score by a stroke to take the title.

Nacos? final score of 155 was a key part of the Demons? team championship, as they finished the two-day tournament with a 698.

?We just had to work together and give confidence to everybody,? Washington senior Sarah Waite said. ?We had an idea about this because we saw our averages and how well we could perform. We all knew that we could possibly do this.?

Waite joined Nacos and junior Deanna Peiffer as an All-State performer at the meet, as Peiffer carded a 176 (86, 90) for eighth place, and Waite finished in a tie for ninth place with a 179 (91, 88).

?I?m really proud of how our team did,? Peiffer said. ?We all came together when we needed to. Individually, I wasn?t happy with the score I had, but it got the job done so I can?t be too upset.?

For Peiffer, her improvement on the season was one of the major reasons the Demons had the opportunity to compete for a state title.

?She?s improved from last year to this year as much as any golfer that I?ve had on any squad,? Kull said. ?Usually the most improvement comes from the first to second year, but hers came this year as a direct result of her work ethic. Multiple people have voiced that although Sarah (Nacos) was a linchpin, (Deanna) was a huge factor in our success.?

Waite, the top senior on the Demons? squad, finished her third state appearance with a medal, and on a young squad, has had to step up as a leader for the team.

?She didn?t get a lot of notoriety, but she is a three-time state qualifier, as a medalist as a top-five player in the regionals,? Kull said. ?That?s a measure on how well she?s done, and she should be really proud of herself and how she progressed as a competitor.?