While the illustrious high school career of Prescott senior Ava Salay has ended, she will continue her athletic and academic journey at the University of Wisconsin next year as a member of the women’s golf program.

Salay cemented her commitment to collegiate golf at the National Signing Day event on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at Prescott High School. Salay continues her career as a Division 1 player with the Badgers in Madison as the only in-state recruit for the program this season.

Salay had always dreamt of becoming a Wisconsin Badger. She made that dream a reality on national signing day surrounded by family, friends and the coaching staff that helped her become a three-time state champion and a Division 1 caliber golfer. She spoke about making it official with Wisconsin.

“I’m really excited to go to Wisconsin. It’s always been a dream of mine since I was young,” Salay said on National Signing Day. “It’s always been in the back of my mind and then when recruiting started it became real. It started being like, ‘I could actually do this and become a Badger.’ That’s just what I had my heart set on.”

While Salay had always dreamt of putting on the Cardinal and White uniform in Madison, there were times when it appeared as if it may not happen. At one point, Salay’s recruitment slowed down and internally she thought that maybe the Badgers were slipping away.

“It becomes kind of slow and you’re like, ‘Do none of these coaches want to talk to me anymore?’ Then it all came together in like a week. I thought the week before that I didn’t have a chance at Wisconsin,” Salay recalled. “I stayed motivated and confident. After I won the Wisconsin Women’s State Open and did some other big things they came and watched me. Then they called and offered me (the scholarship).”

It was shortly after Salay added another championship trophy to her already lengthy resume that the Badgers called and made her an official offer. At the time of the call, Salay was in a hotel room while her dad was out for dinner at a golf coaches’ conference.

After she got off the phone call with the Wisconsin coaching staff, Chad Salay immediately began texting Ava asking how the call went and if there were any major updates. She wanted to tell him in person, so she played it off and waited for him to get back to the hotel. She spoke about finally revealing the big news to her biggest supporter.

“He didn’t come home for like three hours after I got the offer but he kept texting and asking how the call went,”Ava Salay said. “When he got there I said ‘I’m going to Wisconsin!’ and I held up a W while he was walking down the hallway. He picked me up and gave me a hug. That was a really special experience.” Ava Salay’s record is unquestionably the best golf career in Prescott history and is likely the most accomplished athletic career across all sports for the Cardinals. She is a threetime state champion and two-time individual state champion who has set multiple course records throughout the Middle Border Conference and was named Co-Player of the Year in Wisconsin for her 2022 senior season.

Ava Salay’s practice sessions have become legendary in Prescott and western Wisconsin, based on their rigor and her relentless commitment to excellence. Chad Salay spoke about Ava’s work ethic and her continued success athletically.

“Ava has a quote on the wall of her room that reads ‘Always earned, never given.’ By now, most of you probably know the legendary practice sessions Ava puts in. She truly has lived those words these past four years,” Chad Salay said. “She’s earned everything she has accomplished. Ava has had a career that has been one of the most historic in the 51-year history of girls’ golf in Wisconsin.”

Ava Salay has an unrivaled athletic career in western Wisconsin, and certain moments remain ingrained in her mind as some of the most important of her young career. In total, she has three state champions as part of the Cardinals roster, but none have been more meaningful than the one she raised this year in Madison after winning a playoff.

“The state championship that we just won,” Ava Salay said when asked about what meant everything to her. “The other two were very special to me, but the third was just insane and I don’t think that moment could ever be beaten.”

After graduating from Prescott in May, Ava Salay will move to Madison in the fall and begin the next chapter of her academic and athletic career as a member of the Wisconsin Badgers Women’s Golf program.

Prescott’s Ava Salay, flanked by her father and head coach Chad Salay, hits a wedge from the middle of the fairway during the 2022 Girls Golf State Championship at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Prescott head coach Chad Salay speaks at the podium about his two seniors, Ava Salay and Rhi Stutz, continuing their academic and athletic careers at the collegiate level shortly before they signed their letters of intent on National Signing Day on Wednesday, Nov. 9, in Prescott. Photo by Reagan Hoverman