KINGSTON GIRLS GOLF

After being dormant for a while, there will finally be a girl’s golf team at Kingston High School this year.

“It’s been about five years since we’ve had a girls’ team and the biggest challenge has been finding girls who are interested in golf and then getting them to come out and hopefully develop a love for the game,” said golf coach Tyler Stovall. “I went to the other sports and found two basketball players and a manager from the football team to come out to go with our returning player senior Meredith Reid.”

Reid has played as an individual and qualified for the state tournament each year, winning the state championship as a sophomore.

“I’ve been playing golf since I was about six when my dad handed me a set of clubs and said here’s what you’re going to do, and I’ve stuck with it ever since. I’ve played individually for Kingston the last three years just trying to motivate myself to get better and working towards a goal. And now that we’ll have a team this year, I’m trying to encourage them and motivate them to stick with it.”

As a senior and the most experienced golfer on the team, the role of team leader falls squarely on Meredith’s shoulders.

“I think a good leader is not necessarily a dictator but rather someone who sets a good example for others and someone others can lean on and by demonstrating a good work ethic while being uplifting and maintaining a positive attitude.”

Part of that philosophy comes from her experience at state her freshman year.

“I played with a girl named Jenni Roller who went on to win state that year and she was so nice to me and that motivated me to get better and show that I was better than I played that freshman year and I went on to win state the next year,” said Reid who has been president of the student council for four years and part of the National Honor Society. “I’m motivated by how others view me for my academic or golf achievements and so maintaining that status is important to me and also making my parents proud that I am their daughter.”

Meredith is joined on the team this year by juniors Hannah Rojas and Ryleigh Markovich and freshman Kaidence Horton.

Meredith’s goals for this year are to shoot under par in at least one tournament and hopefully win state again before she moves on to play golf at Southeastern State next fall.