Finishing her final high school season, senior Elizabeth Leath placed second at the girls State golf tournament.

“It was really exciting because my goal was to place top 5,” Leath said.

Leath qualified for the tournament all four years of high school and moved up in the rankings with each year. She tied for 36th her freshman year, tied for 20th her sophomore year and tied for 11th her junior year.

In order to qualify for the tournament, Leath had to place among the top 12 individuals at the Sectional tournment, where she ended up placing second. Leath attributed her success this year in part to her prior experience.

“Some people put a lot of pressure on themselves, but since I had past years of experience I was more calm and relaxed,” Leath said.

According to head golf coach Todd Pannett, Leath’s goal of placing in the top 5 originated at the State tournament last year.

“Our ultimate goal, we set this last year on the final day of the state tournament. We saw the final foursome on the green, and I said, ‘That’s where we need to be next year,’” Pannett said.

Due to inclement weather, the first day of this year’s State tournament was canceled, shortening the tournament. Leath said that having only a one-day tournament gave opportunities for unexpected players to do well.

“A two-day tournament would’ve benefitted me because the more consistent players would be the ones competing for the title, and this year I considered myself to be a contender,” Leath said.

Leath trains throughout the year, traveling for tournaments in the summer and spending October through May working usually seven days a week doing a weight program, or when it’s nicer outside, going onto the course or going to a driving range.

“She takes very few days off,” Pannett said. “When other kids are taking days off, she’s hitting golf balls just about every day.”

According to Leath, all the time she spends golfing paid off when she verbally committed to golf next year at the University of Central Missouri.

“These past four years that I’ve been watching some of my friends graduate and play in college, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” Leath said. “Four years of hard work and sacrifice, a lot of sacrifice, has finally proven itself that it was worth it.”

Leath credits her success to both working hard and the people around her, especially her dad.

“He has done so much for me and my game, and I know I would not have been able to do it without him,” Leath said. “Having the opportunity to travel with my dad to all the tournaments is something I will never forget.”
Leath said that while she is looking forward to golfing in college, she will miss high school golf.

“We had such a good atmosphere this year that it’s going to be hard to leave them and know that when their high school season starts, this’ll be the first year I won’t be there,” Leath said.

Both Pannett and some of Leath’s teammates believe she had a positive impact on the team.

“Elizabeth always has a great attitude and taught me a lot of new techniques, especially when we went to the range together,” sophomore Kathleen Cannon said. “She was always positive which put me in a better mood if I was playing badly.”

Along with Leath’s individual success, the varsity team had a winning season as well, with varsity having an 9-1 record for dual matches.

“The team was super successful this year,” Cannon said. “Varsity made it all the way to sectionals, and the JV team was also undefeated, which was great.”

Through so many years of golfing, Leath said she doesn’t regret any of the work that she’s done.

“Even after all the hours of practice and sacrifices I made, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Leath said. “It’s what I love to do.”