As the brisk wind chilled their cheeks, the five Westminster golfers stepped up to the tee, gripped their clubs, and swung away. The team that qualified for the state tournament consisted of Maggie Mauze, senior, Margaret Moore, senior, Brooke Cusumano, junior, Ciara Younger, junior, Jordan Wolf, sophomore, and runner up, Rachael Gantner, senior. These five girls were favored in the tournament and were told many times that they were going to win.
“I just kept telling them to take it one day at a time, one match at a time, and one stroke at a time,” said Steve Bradley, coach.
The adventure began when the team, along with their parents, showed up for the practice round on Sunday at Silo Ridge Golf Course, in Bolivar, Missouri. The girls were tired and worn out which led to an interesting round.
“Before the practice round we all ordered these disgusting burgers, then Coach Janssen was driving fast on all these tight roads and let’s just say it wasn’t pretty,” said Cusumano.
“It was dreadful,” said Wolf. The uncharacteristic practice round did not stick with the girls, the team quickly erased that from their heads and played the game they knew how to play.
The alarm sounded at 6:20 A.M. the following day, and the girls dragged themselves out of bed and headed to breakfast. The five tired girls consumed chocolate covered donuts, toasted bagels with cream cheese, blueberry muffins and orange juice. Coach Bradley said a few words, prayed, and the team was off.
A couple drives, pitches, and putts later the team came back together with smiles on their faces. The girls were forty-one shots ahead of the next team and were in control.
“After the first day I felt like were going to pull it off without question,” said Mauze.
As the second day came around the girls rolled out of bed again and met in the breakfast lounge. The girls were informed that this day was going to be different from the previous. Mothers came downstairs with extra jackets and filled the girls pockets with hand warmers and gloves. The second round was to be played on a wet course, in a biting air, and in 30-mile per hour wind.
“The air was heavy and colder making it difficult for those who had high ball flight, and the greens were a little more challenging because of the rain, but everyone out there had to deal with the same thing,” said Younger.
A crowd of about 150 cold and bundled moms, dads, siblings, friends and grandparents gathered around the 18th green to watch the last groups finish their round. Hearts were pounding, feet were pacing, and the dream of becoming the new District 1, Class 1, state champions was getting closer and closer. The crowd applauded Cusumano and the girls in her group as they tapped in their final putts of the season. The pin was placed in the cup and the tournament was completed.
“I was relieved and felt like I could finally breath again,” said Cusumano.
The Westminster team finished in first place with 91 strokes separating them from the second place team. Cusumano led the wildcats and placed first, with her teammates close behind her. One by one the girls on the Westminster team were called up to receive their medals. The girls hugged their parents, expressed gratitude towards fellow friends on opposing teams, packed their clubs up and drove home.
“Overall I am proud of the humility my team had when they could have let success make them arrogant. I am thrilled that we accomplished what we know we could,” said Bradley.
