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Jackson TWP, Ohio —
The Jackson girls golf team has their challenge to figure out: To win a Div. I girls golf state championship.
That is a case Nancy Grace cannot take on, but it is one that fits perfectly for sophomore-to-be Landrie Grace.
After a sterling freshman campaign for the Polar Bears in which she was a key player on the girls golf team that finished as state runners-up for the second year in a row and cracked the starting roster on the girls basketball team, she is turning her sights once again to the links.
The Jackson Township native competed in last week's Hudson Junior Invitational at the Country Club of Hudson, where she placed fourth with a 233 in the three-day event in which golfers were unable to seize any kind of momentum, as evidenced by the over par-scores in a tournament that was much closer than the final tallies indicated.
Grace admitted afterward that she had not faced a course like the one she witnessed at the Country Club of Hudson.
“There was nothing like the greens that I had ever seen before. I've never seen anything like it,” she said of the course that resulted in over par scores for all 49 contestants.
Grace did not have to worry about such scores as a freshman this past season under the tutelage of Jackson girls coach Teal Harvey. This year's girls team is one that will be loaded and the program should be on solid footing for the next several seasons.
Only one girl graduated from last year's state runner-up team. Angela Codian, who was a senior and worked out with Grace for several years, will soon be a freshman at Ohio University and continue her golf career with the Bobcats.
Grace attests that this upcoming team will be a strong version that has a great chance get back to the state tournament.
“We are very excited for the season despite losing one starter. We went to state last year, but now we want to win a state title and join the 2010 Jackson boys basketball team to win a state title in a sport,” she said. “Our goal is to win a state title.”
Making the conversion from middle school to high school was not easy for Grace. In middle school, there were homework assignments, but not as much. High school is a different matter, which leads to later study hours and bed times compared with the early study and bed times from a middle school student.
The Jackson girls golf team has their challenge to figure out: To win a Div. I girls golf state championship.
That is a case Nancy Grace cannot take on, but it is one that fits perfectly for sophomore-to-be Landrie Grace.
After a sterling freshman campaign for the Polar Bears in which she was a key player on the girls golf team that finished as state runners-up for the second year in a row and cracked the starting roster on the girls basketball team, she is turning her sights once again to the links.
The Jackson Township native competed in last week's Hudson Junior Invitational at the Country Club of Hudson, where she placed fourth with a 233 in the three-day event in which golfers were unable to seize any kind of momentum, as evidenced by the over par-scores in a tournament that was much closer than the final tallies indicated.
Grace admitted afterward that she had not faced a course like the one she witnessed at the Country Club of Hudson.
“There was nothing like the greens that I had ever seen before. I've never seen anything like it,” she said of the course that resulted in over par scores for all 49 contestants.
Grace did not have to worry about such scores as a freshman this past season under the tutelage of Jackson girls coach Teal Harvey. This year's girls team is one that will be loaded and the program should be on solid footing for the next several seasons.
Only one girl graduated from last year's state runner-up team. Angela Codian, who was a senior and worked out with Grace for several years, will soon be a freshman at Ohio University and continue her golf career with the Bobcats.
Grace attests that this upcoming team will be a strong version that has a great chance get back to the state tournament.
“We are very excited for the season despite losing one starter. We went to state last year, but now we want to win a state title and join the 2010 Jackson boys basketball team to win a state title in a sport,” she said. “Our goal is to win a state title.”
Making the conversion from middle school to high school was not easy for Grace. In middle school, there were homework assignments, but not as much. High school is a different matter, which leads to later study hours and bed times compared with the early study and bed times from a middle school student.
That also means working harder to maintain a high grade point average. The challenge is immense given that she is a two-sport athlete. The responsibilities are magnified and no slip-ups can be afforded.
“I have to stay up later at times,” she said. “There are times when I'll get home at 10 p.m. and do studying and have dinner. The conversion from middle school to high school is far more different. But I don't feel any pressure,” she said. “What motivates me is to have a better summer and competing to win a state golf championship. That is my challenge.”
Tony Grace knows just how skilled his daughter is on the golf course and also the potential she possesses on the basketball court.
In a 65-47 home loss to Lake this past season, Grace drained four NBA-range 3-point shots and was the only player in double figures for the Polar Bears. In the eyes of her father, that was not too bad for a girl playing as a freshman with older, more experienced teammates.
“Success is not a problem when it comes to Landrie. She finished with 35 three-point goals made, which is a school record. She really adapted well to competition as a player,” he said. “She is a team player in every sense of the word.”
In the last five years, he has seen his daughter emerge from an elementary school phenom to an accomplished high school athlete.
As she has continued to gain notoriety and respect from her peers, Landrie Grace has always remained level-headed. Much of that has to do with her parents, Tony and Lisa, and the humility both carry in their everyday lives.
However, if there is one goal that stands out to Tony, it is what Landrie said to him after the Polar Bears second straight Div. I runner-up finish to Dublin Jerome. It is a statement that he hopes and believes can happen if everyone comes together and clicks on the golf course.
“Landrie told me that she wants to put another state championship banner in the Jackson gym and that she wants to win a state title for coach (Teal) Harvey and will do anything it takes to make it happen,” he said.
Nancy Grace cannot take the case of leading Jackson's girls golf team to the state championship. But Landrie Grace is more than happy to take on the task and bring home the elusive championship banner that has evaded the Polar Bears’ grasp the past two years.
