On Tuesday, Nov. 11, the Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin released its list of Academic All-State recipients for the 2021 fall girls golf season which included all five starters for the Prescott girls golf team this year.

The five Prescott players receiving the highest academic Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin (GCAW) honors were seniors Liz Rohl and Jessica Heinsch, and juniors Ava Salay, Rhi Stutz and Maddie Reiter.

To be nominated for the Academic All-State honors, the student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25, must have participated in at least 75% of their team’s varsity matches, and must be a sophomore, junior or senior. The aforementioned five Prescott starters all met those qualifications.

Not only did the five Prescott girls meet the qualifications, but they also exceeded them. All five of the players had a GPA above 3.79. The cumulative team GPA was 3.88. Reiter, a junior in the class of 2023, had a top 10 GPA as an individual for her graduating class.

The academic success of the Prescott varsity girls golf team should come as no surprise. Throughout the season the team of Salay, Rohl, Heinsch, Stutz and Reiter have had essentially unlimited success at everything they did this year, which included a second consecutive state championship title for Division 2 girls golf.

The 2021 state title included excellent scores from junior Ava Salay, who was the Player of the Year in the Middle Border Conference. Salay also won the individual state golf championship with her combined two-day score of 148 strokes, which was enough to win the individual title by 14 shots. Salay was the only player to shoot under 150 in the entire field.

For as excellent as Salay was, she wasn’t the only Prescott standout golfer. Rohl posted a two-day score of 171, which gave her sole possession of seventh place. Heinsch shot a 175 for the two days which gave her 11th place. Rhi Stutz’s 177 put her in a tie for 13th place and Reiter’s 195 gave her a 26th place finish.

The aforementioned individual efforts in the state golf tournament at University Ridge in Madison contributed to a total team score of 671 for the two-day tournament. The score was not only good enough to retain the state title, but it was a dominant performance that won the tournament by 49 shots over second-placed Saint Croix Central, who posted a score of 720.

Under the direction of head coach Chad Salay, the Prescott Cardinals have built a powerhouse Division 2 golf program that is essentially unrivaled in Wisconsin. Two state championships in as many seasons, dozens of personal on-course accolades for the five starters, and now, more accolades off of the course in the classroom.

Throughout the season Chad Salay regularly spoke about how proud he is of the girls’ accomplishments on the course, but also their accomplishments off of the course. The Prescott girls golf team is not only athletically dominant but also academically gifted. Next season, Prescott will look to win its third straight state title.

(L-R): Finley Magee, Rhi Stutz, Maddie Reiter, Jessica Heinsch, Liz Rohl, Ava Salay and Lindsay Olson celebrate the Regional Championship at Clifton Highlands Golf Course in Prescott. The five players eligible for Academic All-State honors, Stutz, Reiter, Heinsch, Rohl and Salay, all earned the academic distinction. Photo by Reagan Hoverman