The Allen golf team went undefeated this year, winning the state championship during a two-day trip in Austin, and two of the winners, senior Maddie Szeryk and junior Julie Houston, share their experiences.

“We were fairly confident coming in, but not overly confident that we blew it off and [ended] up not winning,” Szeryk said.

Szeryk placed first in state as the top golfer on her team of five girls.

“I love that [golf] is so competitive and can be a team or individual sport,” Szeryk said. “I like that it teaches you a lot and [encourages] you to try to want to do things.”

Szeryk has played golf for more than 10 years and won a full ride to Texas A&M University on a golf scholarship.

“I have been in the top 10 the last three years, so it was pretty awesome to finally win,” Szeryk said. “We all worked hard, and we deserved to win. I felt I played pretty well the second day, and I feel that after all these years we earned it.”

Junior Julie Houston placed third on her team during state, and expressed the commitment required to win state.

“I practice a minimum of three and a half hours a day during the week and more on the weekend,” Houston said. “It is totally worth it. The more time you put in, the more you get out.”

After playing soccer for 12 years and leaving gymnastics, Houston said she struggled to find her sport until she gave golf a go and fell in love with both the sport and her team.

“I really liked the idea of golf, and when I first tried it, I fell in love with it right away,” Houston said. “I love the team. I have made so many great friends from the Allen golf team. We are all really close, and we have a special bond with each other.

Houston has played golf for five years now and said she feels it has paid off.

“I was on top of the world [after winning state],” Houston said. “Knowing that I contributed this time, that I was a big part of the win, felt really good. Having an undefeated season and pulling it together at the end was just unbelievable.”