By: Donya Hassanshahi
Varsity Girls’ Golf Captain Lillie Wasem, ’23 ends pre-season as #1 on the ladder as league season approaches.
Four-year member of Ranger Women’s Golf, Captain Lillie Wasem, ’23 is currently #1 on the ladder for golf.
At the age of seven, Wasem began playing the sport for fun, though started taking the game more seriously during her eighth-grade year. Before focusing entirely on golf, Wasem was involved with soccer.
She says that her inspiration to play golf is rooted from her father and sister. “He got me into it and bought me my first set of golf clubs and was the one who always took me [golfing]. My sister played in high school, so she also inspired me to play for the team,” Wasem says.
In her perspective, Wasem says that she feels the game is “mentally challenging, which [she] like[s] because it’s not so physical and kind of independent.”
Wasem says she enjoys playing team-involved sports, although relying on herself during a match at the end of the day leaves her satisfied.
As a participant in golf for all four years of high school and acquiring the role of captain this season, Wasem says that her previous role as co-captain alongside former Redwood student, Brielle Alvarez, has prepared her.
For this season, Wasem looks forward to “playing with newer members and getting to know them. It’s really exciting to have a lot of sophomores and freshmen out there.” A goal she says she hopes to achieve is accomplishing a personal record.
Photo Courtesy of Wasem
On August 29th , one-hundred-five girls competed at the Lemoore Golf Course for the Lemoore Tournament. Of these ladies, Wasem represented Redwood by obtaining fifteenth.
When participating in the Lemoore Tournament, she says that the experience was unlike other matches that she has played previously. “Normally, you play league matches with a couple schools, but this time we got to play with a bunch of different schools,” Wasem adds.
Wasem admits to discovering her placement through the Ranger TV sport statistics announcement, “It was crazy because [she] didn’t think [she] was going to do that well. [She] didn’t realize that there were that many girls competing, so it was exciting to see.”
Considering it is her senior year, Wasem has debated whether or not she wants to continue playing in college. She says that she wants to “play golf for fun and [she] want[s] to focus on [her] career, so it will be an outlet when [she] go[es] to college.”
Wasem says that her member status in golf has helped her growth throughout high school:
“[Golf] really helped me branch out my freshmen year. I met a lot of upperclassmen my freshmen year, which also helped me relax at times. When I’m angry or anxious, I go out and hit some balls to help— it’s de-stressing.”
Lillie Wasem, ’23 on how golf has impacted her personal and social life
In August pre-season began and recently ended during the second week of September, which welcomed their league season. The Rangers Women’s Golf team will have their next league 18-hole match on Thursday September 22nd at 11:00 a.m. in Valley Oaks.
Donya Hassanshahi
Donya Hassanshahi, '24 is a third year journalism student writing for the Redwood Gigantea. She seeks interest in the Humans of Redwood, hoping to inspire the Redwood community with her writing. You can reach her by her email at donya.hassanshahi@gmail.com.
Tags: deep dive, Donya Hassanshahi, golf, humans of redwood, keira bixler, Lillie wassam, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood golf, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, redwood sports, rhs, visalia ca