All good things must end. For three Devine Arabian golfers, their high school playing career ended on Oso Beach Golf Course in Corpus Christi last Tuesday afternoon. Kayla Busby, Preslee Quisenberry, and Shelby Spivey competed in Regional for the third year in a row, while junior Paige Williamson and sophomore Lillie Weyel each played for their second time.
I am proud of how they represented Devine High School, their parents, themselves, and the game of golf with honor, integrity, and respect. It is a special group of people and it will be hard to replace the seniors as future seasons commence. They have left a nice legacy and have been great examples for returning and incoming players to model themselves after.
Seniors
For me personally and professionally, losing the set of seniors I am losing at the conclusion of this school year may be the toughest I have had to go through in my 21 years of coaching. Never had I coached an all-girls team until three years ago when I decided to step away from Warhorse basketball and football and to step into the role of Arabian golf coach.
Having Kayla, Preslee, and Shelby for three years and adding Sierra to the mix this season has really made me appreciate and embrace my new role even more. They have definitely done more for me as a person than I could have possibly done for them as golfers.
I appreciate these young ladies more than they will ever know and am eager to see what life has in store for each of them.
Kayla Busby
Kayla is a tireless worker who just took up the game as a sophomore and will now take her talents to Schreiner University to play at the next level. Kayla went from shooting a 129 as a sophomore at Oso Beach to shooting an 83 on the second day of the tournament this season, not to mention she also worked her way to a two-time District 29-4A individual champion and shot a personal best 78 on the second day at District in Uvalde. Incredible.
Once Kayla decided to play golf three years ago, she did all she could to become the best player she could be. I am positive she is already back on the driving range working to improve parts of her game. Regardless of weather conditions or anything else going on, Kayla always made time to practice.
Her parents, Jerry Busby and Jennifer Wofford, always went the extra mile to give her the best opportunity possible to be successful. Whether it was taking her to STPGA tournaments or simply driving to Hondo to work on the range or putting green, Jerry and Jennifer were always willing to make that happen. That speaks volumes about the devotion both parents showed in Kayla when Kayla decided to dedicate her high school playing career to golf.
Kayla said, “My last year of high school golf was definitely one to remember. I accomplished several goals I had set for myself, including shooting a better score at every tournament and shooting a personal best at District.
I am proud of my teammates and all of their goals they achieved throughout the season. Even though this is not the end of my playing career, it is still very sad to come to the end of my senior year.
I want to say a big thank you to Coach Beaty for talking me through the hard times out on the golf course and being a great coach. I also want to thank my parents for always helping me when I need it and for being there for me at the end of tournaments when I did not get the score that I had wanted.
My parents and Coach Beaty have been by my side for all the tears and laughter since day one of my golfing career and I could not have asked for anything better. Thanks again for making my last year my best year ever!”
As I wipe away a couple of tears, I wish Kayla the best as she begins the next chapter of her playing career and enters a new stage of her young life at Schreiner University in Kerrville.
Preslee Quisenberry
You would be hard pressed to find another student at DHS who not only does as much for her high school but also succeeds at her level in so many different extracurricular activities as Preslee Quisenberry. A four-year varsity athlete in basketball, golf, and tennis and a four-year competitor in UIL competitions, Preslee has gotten more out of her time than any other high school student that comes to my mind.
Golf is not an easy game to play. To be good at it and to be good at so many other events is a rarity. Her high school competing career is not even over yet as she has State UIL next week in Austin.
Aside from sports and UIL, Preslee is active in ‘roughly a million other’ school activities. Although she was out of the school setting often while representing DHS in every positive way imaginable, her grades never suffered as she earned Academic All-District and Academic All-State recognitions in multiple sports. Commitment to schoolwork and being the best competitor in whatever she was doing was her top priority.
Preslee said, “I am so glad that we had such a great golf season. As a team, we placed in many tournaments, and together we played really well at the district tournament. I achieved several personal goals this season, and I am glad that golf is a game that I can play forever.
As far as Regional, for my ‘practice round’ I simply could not get off the tee box. I really had to compete in order to shoot the best number I had to date. On the second day, although I still struggled to hit with my driver, I tried not to let it affect me and I had a good day for such a difficult course.
My goal was to shoot below a 100 and even though I didn’t shoot in the low 90s as I wanted, I still achieved my goal.”
I wish Preslee the best as she moves on to Lubbock and Texas Tech and enters new challenges in her young life.
Shelby Spivey
Shelby is a four-year letterman for the golf team and was consistently the number two or number three player going into all of the tournaments over the last three years. She worked to improve her game, often going out on her own and renting a golf cart so she could get in more holes during her practice time.
Aside from golf, Shelby is involved with several school activities. FFA, NHS, FCA, and was a manager for Coach Sessions and the Arabian basketball team. Shelby was always the first one to golf practice and was the first one to show up for the bus trips.
Although she mentions later she did not shoot the score she desired, her integrity for herself and for the game of golf was never called into question. Her scores were not far off of being really good. I called her “1/4 inch Shelby” a lot throughout the season due to many of her putts being just outside the hole.
Shelby said, “With golf officially over, my senior year is rapidly coming to an end. Being a part of the Arabian golf team for four years has been one of the best things to happen to me throughout my high school career.
I have made so many friendships through playing the sport and I will forever cherish each one along with all the memories. The outcome of Regional was not what I had planned, however I am still proud of everything I have accomplished over the last four golf seasons.”
I wish Shelby the best as she moves out to west Texas to attend Texas Tech University. I also wish her a lot of luck as she plans to become a teacher upon her college graduation.
Sierra Pompa–MOY
Making a hard case for Manager of the Year was senior Sierra Pompa. Sierra traveled with the team and continued to be the awesome teammate she has been on all of her Arabian sport’s teams. Behind the scenes, Sierra fist-bumped, high-fived, and gave words of encouragement to all players as they battled the Oso Beach course.
Sierra offered to carry bags, get water or snacks, or do whatever needed to help the team out. She even got a taste of what driving a golf cart on rough terrain was like the second day of the tournament as she bounced me around on several occasions. I’m thankful to be alive.
It ain’t as easy as it looks, huh Sierra?
Sierra played volleyball, basketball, and golf for the Arabians. With basketball going multiple rounds in the playoffs, Sierra did not join the golf team until the conclusion of her basketball season but there were also only three golf tournaments left in golf’s season.
She picked up the game quickly and was even our number 5 player on a couple of occasions. Had she played at least one more season, she would have had the opportunity to play at regional instead of earning the title of golf’s Manager of the Year.
Sierra will play college volleyball for Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton and I wish her the best of luck as she moves on to the next phase of her life.
Returners
Paige Williamson, Lillie Weyel, and Sidney Weyel are the lone returners for the 2019-2020 season. If the Arabians are to wrap up a third consecutive District 29-4A championship, reinforcements are needed.
Paige had two successful days at Regional with her score counting in both days totals. Lillie and Sidney will improve throughout the offseason and be key contributors for the next two years.
I am looking forward to having these three back and excited to see how they respond as the new leaders in Arabian golf.
No erasers
The score recorded at the end of the tournament for each player and team accurately details scores from each round played…for Devine anyway. We still live in a day and time where players cheat, and get by with, cheating the system. Several fabricated scores by other players from other school districts were turned in at Regional, yes, Regional.
With no monitors in sight and only other high school players in each group who are mostly hesitant about calling out a ‘cheater’, some believe it is fair to shave strokes for a better score and that no harm is being done to others. That is not the case.
As stated earlier, golf is a game of honor and integrity. Never did it enter any of the Arabian’s minds to write a number or turn in a scorecard that was a lie.
As you scroll through the scores below and see the places by the Devine player’s names, know that the score you see beside each Devine player is their actual score and not a fictitious number of what they wanted it to be.
Otherwise, their individual ranking would have been several spots higher in the final standings, and that 11th place team finish may have been as high as 8th.
Results
Team standings: 1st-Lampasses-648, 2nd-Salado-678, 3rd-La Vernia-737, 4th-Pleasanton-751, 5th-Zapata-752, 6th-Lamar Fulshear-754, 7th-Bellville-758, 8th-Caldwell-773, 9th-Fredericksburg-781, 10th-Boerne-791, 11th-Devine-833, 12th-Hidalgo-839, 13th-El Campo-881, 14th-Hondo-892, 15th-Rockport Fulton-917, 16th-Beeville Jones-992.
Individual top 5: 1st-Lee Ann Parker-Lampasses-153, 2nd-Cheryl Gauthier-Liberty Hill-156, 3rd-Tristan Gabbard-Lamar Fulshear-158, 4th-Kristen Richards-Lampasses-159, 5th-Mallory Mathews-Hondo-165.
Arabians out of 95 competitors: 17th-Kayla Busby 88/83-171, 38th-Preslee Quisenberry 107/99-206, 53rd-Shelby Spivey 110/116-226, 56th-Paige Williamson 119/112-232, 59th-Lillie Weyel 124/114-238.
By Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer
Arabian golf wraps up successful season at Oso Beach
