by Steven Isaacs
It was a beautifully clear, crisp morning at the White Pine golf course in Ely, Nevada as the leaders of the division III girl’s state golf tournament made their way to the first tee. West Wendover’s Sarah Isaacs sat in second place due to solid ball striking, combined with shaky putting, the previous day.
Sarah’s opening drive was high and weak, settling along the tree line on the right side of the fairway. A poor second, missed pitch, indifferent chip and two putts – double bogey. The leader made par. Sarah was losing ground. The second hole is a long par five. The leader hit a long drive straight down the middle. Sarah stepped up to the tee and promptly lined a drive dead left – out of bounds. The rest of the front nine was more of the same, errant drives followed by strong recovery shots out of the high desert scrub. But the leader was starting to falter, hitting some wild shots and putting poorly. There was still a chance.
The back nine begins with another long par five. Sarah again pulled her drive left into the desert. That misbehaving driver was imprisoned in the golf bag never to see the light of day for the rest of the round. After another very good recovery shot, the lovely wedge third thudded to a halt fifteen feet from the pin. The birdie putt slid by on the right but the resulting par was an excellent start for the final nine. Holes eleven and twelve were well played by all. The turnaround came on the par three thirteenth hole. Sarah’s eight iron tee shot was high and right at the flagstick. It stopped eighteen inches from the hole. The nervously made birdie was the shot in the arm Sarah needed. Equally pivotal was the 
par four fourteenth. Sarah hit a very nice three wood tee shot and a solid second onto the green but the leader was having trouble with the hole. Even after problems putting on the fourteenth green, Sarah walked to the fifteenth tee as the tournament leader. The final four holes were uneventful. Good tee shots (the three wood), good approach play and decent putting. Walking off the eighteenth green Sarah knew she had bested her foursome but had to await the scores of the following players which included the pre-tournament favorite.
The final totals have been tallied and, by two strokes, Sarah Isaacs is the Division III High School Girls State Tournament Champion.
Not to be overshadowed by Sarah’s accomplishment were the results posted by the West Wendover High School Girls team. In finishing second to a very talented Incline Village team the Lady Wolverines had the best result ever for the girl’s golf team. Sara Vera and Sydney Boatman had strong tournaments while Shelby Hansen, Mayra Vite and Ashtin Bell aided in every way. Coach Jennifer Lopez’s team has reached new heights this year, with a very strong league performance and this historic state tournament. The team is young, just two juniors and the rest sophomores and freshmen, so the future looks bright.
Special mention to Bob Woolsey’s Wells High School girls’ team comprised solely of Kirsten and Kaitlyn Alton. These ladies finished third and fourth respectively, in the individual state tournament. This was the first time three out of the six medalist positions were occupied by northeast Nevada girls.
