C.C. Thomas
Sports Scene
Sarah Eccelton says her last round of high school golf was her toughest.
The Heritage senior played in the Division 1 state finals at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University on October 14 and 15 in brutal conditions.
Both days were whipped by wind, especially on the second day, when golfers’ balls were rolling off greens because of the severe conditions.
“Conditions were so bad that seocnd day, it was so windy and cold,” Eccelton said. “It was by far the toughest day of golf I had in high school. The first day it was windy, but managable. The second day there were times it was worse and cold. I had to think more about every shot. By the time it was done, everyone was exhausted. It was probably six hours a day we had to play.”
Still, Eccelton fought through the conditions to fires rounds of 87 and 98 for a total of 185. Rochester Stoney Creek’s Gabby Yurik won medalist honors with rounds of 78 and 75 for 153 total.
Heritage coach Bill Stelter was also in awe of the conditions, and he didn’t even pick up a club.
“I don’t know what happened, but other than unplayable conditions, I haven’t seen anything like that before,” Stelter said. “Balls rolling off greens, but Sarah did a great job. She ended up taking 24th out of 90 golfers, even after taking a nine on her final hole.”
No matter how her final round and hole ended, Stelter said it was his honor to coach Eccelton and watch her grow as a four-year varsity player, who also qualified for the state finals as a sophomore.
“She is a big deal,” Stelter said. “She is starting to get people calling her about college — Alma and Olivet and a community college in Arizona have called. She is starting to get noticed and she deserves it. She has really worked hard at her game. In golf, if you can improve your score by two strokes every year, you are doing well. Her average came down that every year.”
It all culminated with a senior season that saw Eccelton average 40.9 shots per nine holes and have personal-best rounds of 37 for nine and 79 for 18 holes.
“It was pretty good, I’m happy with my career,” Eccelton said. “Each year I improved, and especially in golf, you can’t be any happier than that.”
The only regret that Eccelton may have about her high school career is that her team and teammates weren’t able to join her at the state finals.
“This year was the closest we have been,” Eccelton said. “And we just missed being the Saginaw Valley champions each year. We always had a good team, just fell short.”
This year’s team missed qualifying for the state finals by 10 shots.
Now, Eccelton looks into her playing future.