Senior Shaleigh Eldridge didn’t start playing golf until her teenage years but has achieved quite a bit of success through her high school years. She was a member of Hilldale’s state championship golf team her sophomore year and on the team that went to state again last year finishing sixth.

“I’ve had Shaleigh the whole time she’s been a golfer and she’s a very hard worker and very dedicated to getting better,” said her golf coach Oren Sikes. “She’s certainly one of the reasons we’ve been able to achieve the success in golf that we’ve had in the past few years.”

Shaleigh’s introduction to golf was through her best friend Victoria Wiedel.

“Victoria was playing and she said, ‘you need to come and play golf with me’ and I did, and I just fell in love with it,” said Shaleigh.

Going to the state tournament and playing on a championship team created memories and teaching aides for Shaleigh this year as she’s moved into a leadership position on the team.

“It’s pretty rare for a sophomore to get to go to state so it was such a cool experience when I made it. It was kind of nerve wracking when you’re teeing off with a lot of people watching you on the last hole. It was crazy. Individually, I haven’t done as well at state as I would have liked but I use all of these experiences now as I advise the younger girls now on how to be a part of a team but also push yourself to do better individually. My parents have always pushed me to be the version of myself and I want to do that for the rest of the team,” said Eldridge who is also in the National Honor Society.

Last year Shaleigh had her first eagle in tournament play and had the best round of her career. She’s worked hard on her short game this off season and her goals for this year are to go back to the state tournament, make All State, and break 80 for the first time. She will continue her education and golf careers next year at Missouri Southern University.