By Madalynn Tagle Posted December 20, 2024
Katie Cassinelli has been recognized as Athlete of the Issue. Cassinelli is on the girls’ golf team and has played throughout high school. She has accomplished a lot and qualified for state this year. The season has been filled with many victories for Cassinelli, some of which being that she placed fourth in the state and third individually in the North.
“My season went great,” said Cassinelli. “I really liked how I performed and finished. It was a great way to end my senior year by finishing fourth in the state.”
Coach Laurie Pickett has seen all the hard work Cassinelli has put into golf throughout the years. She sees that Cassinelli was working extremely hard to win state overall and she is proud that she got so close to that goal. Cassinelli placed third in state and there was a lot of commendable work that went into getting where she placed.
“Katie’s focus this year was commendable,” said Coach Pickett. “She strove to improve her game for all reasons. Even though Katie fell short of winning State this year, she still keeps working toward that goal all season.”
Katie has accumulated many memories this season. She is happy that all the hours of work she has put in have finally shown within her playing.
“My favorite memories would have to be watching my hard work finally pay off in the end,” said Cassinelli.
Coach Pickett also has her favorite memories with Cassinelli this year. She will truly miss all the time she spent with her on all the trips and how much she learned about her as a person.
“My favorite memory with Katie is being my navigator on away trips as I could always depend on her directing me toward our destination successfully,” said Coach Pickett. “I especially enjoyed visiting with her about her future plans. I can’t wait to see what Katie accomplishes.”
For the past four years, Cassinelli has qualified for state. She has some overall great experiences with going. She enjoys the feeling of going and enjoys seeing the various courses when she’s traveling.
“I have gone to state all four years,” said Cassinelli. “It is a pretty exciting experience and I always have this bolt of energy every time I qualify. It is always fun traveling and getting to see the courses. Actually playing for the state is memorable.”
Cassinelli is a great player, but she also contributed to her personality’s great qualities. She was always reliable to the team and helped her teammates out with anything they needed. She did an excellent job of holding herself and those around her accountable. Her entire team will truly miss her.
“Katie contributed to the team in the role of ‘team mom’” said Coach Pickett. “I knew I could count on her to make sure everyone was ready to go to tournaments. I especially appreciated how well she made sure the team’s golf bags and carts fit in the transit van which tended to resemble a game of Tetris. Don’t know what we will do without her.”
Cassinelli does not plan to stop her journey in golf anytime soon and has plans to continue playing after high school.
“I actually want to go to college for golf,” said Cassinelli. “After college, we will see where that takes me. If I go pro or just stay at the college level.”
The past four years have been good seasons for Cassinelli and she is sad to be leaving everyone behind. She has developed numerous friendships with her teammates and her love for golf has only grown over the years.
“I am about sad about the golf,” said Cassinelli. “I loved playing golf throughout high school and I will miss all the friends I have created on the team too. A lot of them were younger this year, so I am going to miss all of them”
