By Vaishnavi Sriadibhatla and Nolan Talley, Co-Sports Editor and Staff Reporter
From Oct. 21-22, freshman and boys’ golf team member Will Johnson competed at the PIAA Individual Golf State Championships at Penn State. He battled through two rounds against some of the state’s best golfers on an 18-hole course that required over 10 hours of match play.
Johnson was the only member of the Conestoga boys’ golf team to qualify for states at the District 1 Golf Championships on Oct. 14. At states, Johnson placed ninth overall with a score of four under par, making him the only freshman to place in the top 10 out of a total of 72 players.
“It (the state championship) was super fun. It was awesome being there as a freshman because I knew a ton of people there. I knew this is just my freshman year; I have three more years to build on it,” Johnson said.
Johnson began golfing after his parents enrolled him in golf lessons when he was 5 years old. His interest in golf was piqued when he was 8 years old after he decided to get involved in more competitive tournaments.
“My parents got me into lessons because I was trying something new. It kind of clicked, and it was just something that I really enjoyed,” Johnson said.
Johnson chose to start competing at the national level when he turned 13. He decided to participate in the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, a national tour that conducts junior golf tournaments in 24 different states and ranks players based on the points they gain from competing in these weekly tournaments. So far this year, Johnson has accumulated a total of 11,150 points, ranking him third nationally within the Boys 14-15 division of the tour.
“I think I started noticing how well I was actually amongst other kids when I was probably 13 because that’s when the rankings got a little more serious,” Johnson said. “It was like, ‘Oh, I’m actually up there with some of the better kids.’”
Johnson and the team are excited to see what he will accomplish in his upcoming years of playing golf for Conestoga.
“He’s driven. There’s no external factor that’s driving him; it’s in him. It’s intrinsic. He wants to do it, so he’ll keep doing it,” boys varsity golf coach John Jones said. “As far as working at his game, practicing getting better, he’s got the mental game for it and the physical abilities. I actually think it’s going to be fun to see what he will accomplish.”
Vaishnavi Sriadibhatla can be reached at [email protected].
Nolan Talley can be reached at [email protected].
