|
|
|
|
Monday, September 1, 2008
Bayou Bound
Central Arkansas, AR
|
|
|
By: Beck Cross
|
Photo(s) By: Bill Patterson
|
State’s top girls’ golfer narrows 70 Division 1 offers to Louisiana State
|
“For about a 10-month period, I’d get an average of 30 to 40 emails of day from coaches from around the country,’’ said Maggio, who advanced to the round of 16 for the second consecutive year at the 2008 U.S. Junior Girls Championship. “It seems like every time I’d look down at my cell phone, I’d see that I had [email messages] just backed up. I was just ready for the process to be over with so I could go back to being a kid again.’’
|
|
|
MARY MICHAEL MAGGIO AT-A-GLANCE
AGE: 17
SCHOOL: Senior, Conway High School
PARENTS: Mike and Emily Maggio
STATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Three-time Arkansas Women's Golf Association Junior Player of the Year; three-time AWGA High School Overall champion; a combined nine state titles in AWGA and Arkansas State Golf Association championships.
NATIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Ranked No. 19 nationally by Golfweek magazine; two-time winner on the American Junior Golf Association circuit; first Arkansan to qualify four times for U.S. Junior Girls Championship; advanced to the round of 16 in 2007 and 2008 U.S. Junior Girls Championship.
Mary Michael Maggio of Conway may not have the same name recognition as a blue-chip high school football player, but she certainly knows what it’s like to be one of the most sought-after college prospects in the nation.
Maggio, 17, who is ranked as the 19th best overall junior girls golfer in the nation by Golfweek and 10th among those scheduled to graduate in 2009, sorted through more than 70 Division I scholarship offers before narrowing her choices to Louisiana State, Texas and Arkansas.
When she finally opted for LSU, she naturally caught her share of flak from many who had hoped she would remain loyal to the Razorbacks.
“Believe me, I got an earful and I’m still getting a little bit of grief,’’ said Maggio, a senior at Conway High School. “What surprised me even more was when I went to Texas for a tournament this summer and the people down there were giving me as hard of a time that I wasn’t going to be Longhorn.”
Maggio, who has been a star on the national scene for three years and is the first Arkansan to qualify for the U.S. Junior Girls Championship four consecutive years, said the recruiting process was grueling.
“For about a 10-month period, I’d get an average of 30 to 40 emails of day from coaches from around the country,’’ said Maggio, who advanced to the round of 16 for the second consecutive year at the 2008 U.S. Junior Girls Championship. “It seems like every time I’d look down at my cell phone, I’d see that I had [email messages] just backed up. I was just ready for the process to be over with so I could go back to being a kid again.’’
Maggio, who has a 3.9 grade point average, left nothing to chance when making her final selection and approached the decision more pragmatically than emotionally.
“When I narrowed it to LSU, Texas and Arkansas, I made a list of pros and cons of each and it became a process of elimination,’’ Maggio said. “All had so many positives but it all boiled down to me being comfortable in my own skin at LSU. I liked the coach [Karen Bahnsen], the facilities and the fact that it was close enough but far enough away from home. It just clicked.’’
Parents Mike and Emily Maggio, who have been mainstays in their daughter’s gallery since she first began competing at age 11, didn’t play favorites with one particular school.
“She would come to us with questions, but the decision was entirely hers,’’ said father, Mike, who recently ran successfully for re-election as circuit judge in Conway. “She’s got a good head on her shoulders and she’s a good kid. We trust that she’s made the right decision.’’
It’s no secret why almost every coach around the country had Maggio at the top of their wish list. She took up golf at age 11 and won her first state title less than a year later at the 2003 Arkansas State Golf Association Junior Stroke Play Championship. She dominated the statewide ranks from age 13 to 15 before setting her sights primarily on national play in 2006.
But before Maggio heads to Baton Rouge for her freshman year in the Fall of 2009, she has a little unfinished business in Arkansas. She’ll be the odds-on favorite to notch an unprecedented third Girls Overall High School Championship in October.
“Mary Michael has greatness just oozing out of her,’’ Conway golf coach Janet Taylor said. “She controls her own future because she has a superb work ethic, athleticism, intelligence, desire to be the best and the confidence to get it done. It’s certainly going to be fun to watch her continue to mature and get even better.’’
Despite being a big name on the national stage, Maggio said she wouldn’t be lacking motivation to leave Arkansas on top.
“It’s one tournament I certainly don’t want to lose so I’ll be plenty motivated,’’ Maggio said. “There’s so many good players out there like Haley [Sanders] and Emma [Lavy] and three or four others who have signed Division I scholarships so I’ll have my work cut out for me. Arkansas girls golf has come a long way.’’
|
|
| No comments added! Click [ add a comment ] to be the first! |
|
|
|
™
