MORAVIA – North Mahaska sophomore Aly Steil continued her meteoric golf season by notching a spot in next week’s Class 1A state golf tournament. She finished sixth at the par-72 course at The Preserve at Honey Creek. Steil will compete in a 36-hole event at the American Legion Course in Marshalltown on Thursday and Friday, May 23-24. Tee times and pairings will be released Tuesday, May 21.
Steil, who was the sixth qualifier at the regional opener in Sigourney last week, was one of four of the seven qualifiers of the regional final that came from the Sigourney region.
Highland, which won the Sigourney regional, also captured the Region 5 title with a 350. New London was second with 363 followed by Louisa-Muscatine with 389.
Individually, Taylor Phillips and Sophie Malott of New London were medalist and runnerup with a 77 and 79 respectively. Steil tied for sixth with Emersyn Schultz of Highland with an 89.
Steil said she was nervous the first couple holes then settled into her game.
“I’m excited,” said Steil. “I was shaking a little on those first two holes but got into my game. That’s when I am best when I play my game. I really don’t pay attention to how the others are playing.”
Steil said she was able to play the course on Sunday afternoon so knew more about where the holes were entering the tournament.
“I felt I could have done better but I am happy,” said Steil. “It was really beneficial to have played the course and knowing where I needed to go.”
Coach Al Hodgeman, who has his first state golf qualifier, was pleased with the play.
“It was a really great day,” said Hodgeman. “We didn’t have any expectations. We did not talk about a finish. I told her to go out play golf and have fun.”
Steil and Hodgeman were pleased that her teammates, Lacey Campbell Avary Westercamp and Elise Westercamp were able to attend and provide support.
“Kudos to the North Mahaska leadership team for allowing them to attend,” said Hodgeman. “The three girls were adamant about going and it shows the culture of North Mahaska of being supportive of each other. They got a sense of what it takes to compete at this level.”
Steil will have a busy turnaround as she shifts gears for state track on Friday when she is set to anchor the Warhawks’ 1,600-meter relay in the preliminaries Friday night. She would run again Saturday if the quartet makes the finals.
As for state golf, Steil is already looking at areas in which she needs to improve.
“I did pretty well on the par-3s and on the front nine was set up for birdie but took a par,” said Steil. “On one of the par-5s I got a double. I’ve got to work on my short game and break the habit of lifting my head. I just need to relax and just have fun. Golf is something I like to do.”
Regardless of the outcome next week, Steil will have made a mark on North Mahaska girl’s golf as one three Warhawk girls to reach state. Kate Ray qualified in 2012 and Mackenzie Fuller went in 2015.
Team Score: 1. Highland 350; 2. New London 363; 3. Louisa-Muscatine 389; 4. Martensdale-St Marys 412; 5. Nodaway Valley 436; 6. BGM 478; 7. Wapello 504.
Individual Scores: Taylor Phillips, New London 77; Sophie Malott, New London 79;Adisyn Prottsman, Highland 80; Kelsi Cerny, Highland 84; Madison Bieri, Louisa-Muscatine 86; Aly Steil, North Mahaska 89; Emersyn Schultz, Highland 89.
