By Alyssa Schulz, Executive Sports Editor
For the fourth and final year Senior Kelly Kavanagh competed at sectionals as a Prospect Knight. But this year, however, was the first year that Kavanagh reached the milestone of placing third in sectionals and individually gaining a spot at the State Final Tournament. This is the first year she qualified for State as an individual.
It wasn’t that her swing had drastically improved, as her performance between freshman year and junior year was enough to secure her a scholarship to Drake University. It was her mentality that had. 
Both her sophomore and junior year sectional performance Kavanagh says were her worst of the seasons, causing her not to qualify both years, even though she had the technical skills.
“I didn’t walk in with enough confidence [last year] … I kind of fell apart during the postseason,” Kavanagh said.
So instead of working primarily on her swing this year she has also been working on her performance.
“Golf is mostly mental. If I’m in a good mood or I’m playing mostly care free then my score will be better,” Kavanagh said.
Her work showed in this year’s sectionals, as she received a score of 73, which was six points better than the necessary score to qualify for State of 79. 
With this new confidence, Kavanagh hopes to attest to her skill as a golfer–— and to play as a Prospect Knight one last time.