By Lydia Browne
There is a wide variety of sports that students can play at BHS. One of these sports is golf. Christina Levenhagen is the captain of the BHS Girls’ Golf team this year. She joined the team her Freshman year. Now, she is a Junior.
As a Junior, Levenhagen enjoys a variety of activities in school and out of it. “My favorite class [this year] is AP Psych,” she said. “I [also] like to listen to music and read. [Other than golf,] I don’t really play any other sports.”
Though she joined the golf team her Freshman year, her interest in the sport started well before her high school years. “I first played when I was around 8 years old,” she said. “My dad played golf, so I started playing because of him. But I didn’t play consistently until high school.”
Other than her previous experience in the sport, Levenhagen also had other reasons for her desire to join the golf team. “I joined the team for the opportunities for scholarships, and playing on the team looks really good on college applications,” she explained. “[After I graduate,] I will probably still play every once in a while. I [don’t have any plans to] play on a team in college, though.”
According to Levenhagen, playing golf on the team has both pros and cons. “I really enjoy spending time with my friends on the team,” she said, “[but] playing golf [can be] hard, and it is difficult to get good at [it].”
It is clear to Levenhagen that the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to her experience on the Girls’ Golf team. “The best memory was the first practice of my sophomore year,” she remarked. “It was fun to see all of my friends from the year before on the team again.”
It is these relationships that encourage Levenhagen to try her best. “ [When I play,] I am motivated by my family and the desire to do well for my team,” she stated. “I [also] really like my coach, Coach Bob. He’s really nice.”
Since golf is based on an individual score, much of the work is in improving your own performance. “My best score is a 46 on a 9 hole round. I’m pretty proud of that,” Levenhagen said. “[However,] I’ve never gotten a hole in one. That is very hard.”
“I would encourage BHS students to join the golf teams,” Levenhagen said, “. . .You don’t have to know how to play golf beforehand, and you don’t have to buy your own golf set. It’s really fun and it is a great opportunity to meet new people.”
BHS has both a girls’ and boys’ golf team. The boys’ team plays during the spring semester, while the girls play from when school starts in August to late October.
During the season, the girls practice four days a week, Monday through Thursday, and usually have matches twice a week. Their home course is the Blue Rock Springs golf course in Vallejo. According to Levenhagen, this is her favorite place to play.
Though the season had already ended, Levenhagen played her last game of the year on Monday, October 23. At the last game of the season, she qualified for the North Coast Section (NCS) D1 Qualifier tournament and moved on farther than the rest of the team. Before the tournament, Levenhagen described the tournament as well as her hopes for it. “I qualified for it by having a low enough score in the last tournament on Monday. It’s [going to] be in Oakland,” she said. “It will probably take 6 or 7 hours, and if you win you get to go on to the next tournament. I hope [that my score will be] under 100 at least.” On Monday, she earned a score of 105.
Levenhagen now looks back at a season of hard work, personal progress, and camaraderie. “It was a fun season,” she commented. “I look forward to doing it again next year.”
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