Delaney Wade, a prominent member of the Penn Girls’ Golf Team, a freshman, led the Kingsmen through the Girls’ Golf Sectional Championship on August 26th, 2020 at Knollwood Country Club in Granger.

“It felt pretty great as a freshman to play number one spot,” said Wade, a seven-year golfer. “It really shows that my efforts paid off.”

Wade shot an astonishing score of 71 on Wednesday, leading the Kingsmen to the 22nd sectional championship victory in the team’s history career. Wade is the leader of five golfers on the team.

The pressure arose upon Wade’s mind throughout the sectional championship. “I just like to take a deep breath and know that you can’t go back, you can’t re-hit a shot, the next shot is the shot that counts, so play that one to your full potential.”

Wade took her record up to the East Noble Regional Championship and shot a score of 85. Overall, the Kingsmen shot 347 to earn fourth place. Concord just edged Penn by two strokes to earn a spot in the state finals the following Saturday.

Now that the season has slowed down, Wade reflects on her season and what she could do to prepare for next season. “During the winter, I will definitely be taking more lessons. There are indoor facilities that I could use to work on my swing, perfect it. I will also work more in the spring. Golf is my main sport.” Wade says how she was a multi-sport athlete and is now focusing more on golf. “Now that I have a lot more time, I can start focusing on golf.”

Wade looks to her coach, Katie Bella, to keep her in top form, through the good and bad. “My coach helps me the most. She’s always there watching us, making sure that we’re keeping a smile on our face, going through it and taking our time, and calming us down.” 

Wade plans to play golf in the future. She plans on continuing her post-secondary study at the University of North Carolina and playing Tar Heels golf.

By Kevin McNulty

Kevin McNulty teaches English and Mass Media Studies at Penn High School. He advises the Penn News Network and manages the PNN Studio and news room. For more information, navigate your browser to www.massmediastudies.net.