Seymour’s Shana Spray drives for the Lady Owls on earlier this season during the Sectional meet at Otis Park Golf Course in Bedford.

Dakota Locker | The Tribune

The game of golf is a test of many things; It tests your mind in a lot of diverse ways, and you must be mentally tough to be a great golfer. The performance also is solely reliant on the individual, which can bring a lot of pressure to anyone on the greens or fairways.

Seymour’s Shana Spray completely changed the course of her golf career during her sophomore season. The Owls golfer shot a 107 in her final meet of her first year at the Bedford North Lawrence Sectional. She then turned that around, averaging a 44.1 on 9 holes and 90.5 on 18 holes this year.

Spray then ended her sophomore season with an 88 at the same sectional golf course and scored an 89 at the regional. She was selected as the 2024-25 Tribune girls’ golfer of the year for her season.

“It’s a big honor to me, my family is a big supporter of me golfing and has been for a while,” Spray said. “They’ve put so much effort into me and care so much about how I do. My dad and grandpa are my biggest supporters and I’m very grateful for them.”

The sophomore spoke about her huge improvement in her favorite sport.

“Going back to summer matches and working on my game helped me out a lot,” Spray said. “I practice a lot, and my grandpa always pushes me to come out and play golf and I feel that is big. Mentally I have improved a lot and just not thinking too much when I go out and play. Focusing and trying not to do too much has really helped me out a ton.”

Owls head coach Jim Hoffman thought the improvement of her short game did a lot for Spray in the past season.

“We worked a lot on the short game. She still has some stuff to continue getting better, but she putted a lot better this season and I think it’s just a maturity thing with figuring out the game,” Hoffman said. “I think she’s getting to that point, but she stayed more in tune in the game than she did last year. She’s still a sophomore so she has a lot of room for more growth, and I think she will continue getting better around the greens.”

Spray spoke about this year’s campaign and why she enjoyed it.

“The season was really fun, Coach Hoffman and Coach Tidd do a lot for us,” Spray said. “I’m extremely grateful for them and I tell them that all the time. Their great coaches and I would not ask for anyone else. They always make practice fun and keep us going. “

Spray enjoys being on the course and was asked about some of her favorite things about the sport of golf.

“It’s super peaceful on the course,” Spray said. “There’s no better environment to do something like this and it’s also something you can do when you’re older. It’s great and there aren’t many sports that you can continue playing for that long like you can with golf. It’s a great way to bond with people and have fun.”

With two seasons left on the course, the sophomore was asked about how she can continue to improve in her upcoming seasons for the Owls.

“I need to continue practicing more and working on my game,” Spray said. “Also hanging out and playing with good golfers can help you get better. We also need to push each other as a team, I feel that we have great potential. I just think getting out here as often as possible and doing the best you can and putting all our effort into it will make us better as a team.”

Spray was named to the Hoosier Hills Conference team as an honorable mention for her performance this year. The sophomore will continue working on her game to prepare for next year.

Other members of the all-county team:

Jayda Clodfelder, (Sr.), Brownstown Central: 48.8/94.6, MSC All-Conference (3rd) Regional Qualifier, 93 at Sectional, 92 at Regional

Abby Schroer, (Sr.), Brownstown Central: 45.4/96.4, MSC All-Conference (6th), Regional Qualifier, medalist 2 times, 93 at Sectional, 97 at Regional

Katie Cottrill, (Sr.), Seymour: 47.5/95.5, 4-time Regional Qualifier, medalist 1 time, 94 at Sectional, 95 at Regional.

Khloe Lingenfelter, (Jr.), Brownstown Central: 44.8/90.6, MSC All-Conference (4th), Regional Qualifier, medalist 5 times, 91 at Sectional, 92 at Regional

Emmy Followell, (Sr.), Seymour: 46.5/99.6, Regional Qualifier, medalist 1 time, 99 at Sectional, 98 at Regional.