Springs Valley Community High School

The Springs Valley girls’ golf program has seen its share of success in recent years, sending a handful of golfers to the regional round and beyond. In 2022, the Blackhawks expect more of the same. They’re led by a pair of players who qualified for regional last season — senior Macy Hall and junior Mia Cruz — and their presence provides Valley with a stable foundation to build from. Since picking up golf as a freshman, Hall has gone from raw athletic talent to well-rounded golfer. She’s gained a ton of experience, playing in three consecutive IHSAA regionals and proving consistent in each of them, carding a 114 as a freshman before posting a 110 as a sophomore and then a 111 as a junior. This season, she’s expected to use that experience to be a leader for the Blackhawks. “I’m definitely going in with mixed emotions. I’m excited for her to use the leadership qualities she’s gained, but also sad it will be her last year,” Springs Valley coach Eric Elkins said. “I expect her to show a lot of confidence on the course this year. She has three years of experience at the high-school level and has played at regional all three years. She knows what that feels like and I know she wants to make it all four years, so it will be fun watching her work towards that.” Cruz has consistently gotten better over the course of her career and is known for her work ethic on the links. If there’s a golf version of a “gym rat,” she’s it. After just missing out on a regional berth as a freshman, she made sure to leave no doubt about whether or not she belonged there as a sophomore. She cut six strokes off of her sectional score to shoot a 100 and advance. With a regional appearance under her belt, she’s ready to chase after greater heights heading into the second half of her high-school career. “Mia has a great work ethic and has always strived and worked towards improving her game. As she matures and gets stronger her game follows right along and gets stronger also,” Elkins said. “I expect that maturity to show in how she approaches each shot and for her to play with more consistency.” Their two 2021 regional qualifiers aside, the Blackhawks do have one other returning player, Karmen Hall. The sophomore picked up golf last season and worked hard at it. She’s expected to be in Springs Valley’s top four all season. There’s also a trio of newcomers to the team. Freshman Dallas Hendrix will play for the Blackhawks at the varsity level after spending a pair of seasons playing junior-high golf. According to Elkins, she’s shown some potential and should be a contributor this season. Junior Maggie Dennis and freshman Logan Watts are Springs Valley’s other new faces, each playing their first season of golf. Elkins hopes that as the season progresses, that duo will make some strides in their game and ultimately be in a position to add to the Blackhawks’ strength. Springs Valley’s season is already underway and the matches are coming at them one after another. As they get into the season they’re expecting to spend a lot of time focusing on improving around the greens, something many young golfers take some time to figure out. “We will be working on the short game a lot. You can save a lot of strokes there, so it will be a priority,” Elkins said. “I also want to work on course management as making the right choices in the right places is a crucial part of the game that often gets overlooked.”