By Cooper Chadwick
Hoping to keep the streak alive, senior Luke Newell is adamant in leading Salina Sacred Heart to their 10th straight state golf title.
Newell has been a part of the last three state championship teams and has placed third in state each year. Despite the talent needed to do this, Newell wants more.
“I would like to have a scoring average of 75 or lower and try to win state as an individual so I can break my streak of taking 3rd place every year that I have participated,” Newell said.
As a senior and an athlete with three state titles under his belt, Newell is the leader of this team.
“I know what it means to be a winner and I hope to encourage and support the guys on my team to keep going even when it gets tough,” Newell said.
Newell spends a lot of his time practicing on the range or playing a round of golf, so it would make sense for him to be confident in his game.
“Luke is tenacious when he plays. There is no give up in him. Golfers experience a wide variety of emotions in a round of golf. Some golfers get angry at any little bit of trouble. Some golfers remain calm and go with the flow. Luke is the calm one. In the three previous years that he played for me he never once asked me to follow him,” head coach Patrick Newell said.
It being his senior year, Newell is even more excited to begin playing in tournaments. This year his younger brother will be playing alongside him, which makes Newell even more ecstatic.
“This is what I have been waiting for so long and I’m super jittery and excited because I get to play the sport I love for one last time in high school,” Newell said.
