Rebuilding Warhawks stay positive

The season has been a rebuilding one for the West Fork Warhawks girls golf team as the team is heading into the Class 1A-Region 3B meet at Ridge Stone Golf Club on May 10. Head coach Abbie Emhoff said that the team had to deal with some adversity as they lost their No. 1 golfer, Katelyn Witte for the season due to a shoulder injury. 

“We hope for a strong return next year,” Emhoff said.

Emhoff said that all the golfers have come out with a positive attitude this year.

“We are definitely in a rebuilding year as we only have one returning varsity golfer in Emersyn Brown,” Emhoff said. “She has had some great meets and her confidence level is always spot on. Senior Jadyn Dirksen is a returning golfier who is golfing in our sixth spot. Our other four who complete our varsity squad are freshman Brooke Rother, seniors Grace Payton and Kacie Fessler, and sophomore Ava Huff. All of the girls came out with a positive attitude and a willingness to improve. I’ve been proud of their progress and we look to make some noise at conference and regionals. We’ve finished with a lot of second place finishes but are hoping that hosting regionals that we will have a leg up and take the gold.”

Nine of the team’s meets so far this season have been against two or three other teams and the Warhawks took second place in five of them and third place in two of them. During the season so far, one positive that Emhoff said she noticed about the team is how well the chemistry is.

“Some positives I’ve noticed is that the girls really mesh well as a team,” Emhoff said. “They’re very supportive of each other and being able to shift girls into different spots is easy with this team. They play well and encourage each other no matter which spot they are golfing.”

Emhoff said that the Warhawks have been positive about how the year has gone so far.

“The team overall is just very positive and are encouraged with all of their efforts,” Emhoff said. “They enjoy seeing the scores and how they did after every meet both individually and as a team.”

Heading into the final meets of the season, Emhoff said that consistent chipping and putting two or less on the green are some areas she would like to see the Warhawks work on. In order for the Warhawks to take the next step, Emhoff said that putting and chipping consistently are things the team needs to work on.

The team’s confidence is one area that Emhoff said there has been visible improvement in for the Warhawks.

“The areas I’ve noticed the most improvement this year is confidence in themselves,” Emhoff said. “And letting go of any errors they may have had and starting fresh at the next hole. Our drives have also become more consistent.”