Girls golf starts season off strong

Grant Snowden, Sports Broadcaster

The Manhattan High Girls golf team kicked off their 2021 season after a very impressive 2020 season, where they won both the Centennial League title as well as their Regional tournament before placing sixth at the State tournament. But this season the Lady Indians will face a new obstacle: inexperience. 

This year the Indians have nine freshmen along with three sophomores, compared to last year’s team who graduated five seniors that helped the Indians make their way to State. This year’s team has two returning varsity players: Rylee Wisdom and Lizzy Tauschek. Tauschek was forced to sit out last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic but played Varsity her sophomore season. Regardless, back in May of 2021, Tauschek committed to the University of Sterling to continue her golf career. 

“I’d say the biggest thing about the underclassmen is that they came in with a lot of skill– they wanted to get better every day,” Tauschek said. “I feel that I have the responsibility to help them with their game and guide them throughout the season.” 

Through the first two meets of the season, the Lady Indians have placed fourth and beat Hayden in their dual in late August. According to Tauschek, the team still has room for improvement. 

“Our last meet at Wamego will be one of the tougher courses we [will] play all season and we still improved our score which was a good sign,” Tauschek said. “The team’s overall goal for the season is to keep improving and get us prepared to compete at State.” 

The Indians will be back in action on Tuesday at Shawnee CC.