Lansing girl belongs — on the boys team
By RYAN YOUNG
The Kansas City Star
Maria Jackson admits it was a little weird when she joined the Lansing boys golf team as a freshman.
Of course, to her, it was because she had to tee off from farther back. To others, it was exceptional for a different reason.
Now a senior, Jackson is preparing to play in the Kansas 5A state golf tournament — the state boys golf tournament — for the third time. She’s been more than a novelty act during her four seasons with the team, and by now, her presence at Turkey Creek Golf Course in McPherson on Monday shouldn’t seem weird to anyone.
“Probably, by now, they’re all way used to me,” Jackson said Wednesday before practice.
Even if it took a little getting used to over the years.
“There have been times when we’ve gone to a tournament, and some guys don’t know who she is and don’t know how good she is,” Lansing coach Bill Pekarek says. “They say something like, ‘Well, I’m not going to get beat by that girl today.’ or something like that. And then when it’s over, they realize that, yeah, she just kind of kicked their (butt).”
Jackson is hoping to become a state medalist Monday. She shot two of her best varsity rounds in recent weeks — including the highlight of her four years at Lansing, which doesn’t have a girls golf team.
“It was kind of surreal that the best golfer in our league is a girl,” said Josh Greene, a Lansing teammate and a fellow state qualifier.
Jackson didn’t hesitate to join the Lansing boys golf program as a freshman. There wasn’t a girls team at the school, and beyond that, she had been around the Lions’ boys team for years, watching her older brother David Jackson play.
If that part of the equation wasn’t a surprise, maybe her success has been — to an extent.
“I think some of our kids knew about her, knew that she was David’s sister and that she’s a pretty decent player,” Pekarek says. “I guess probably they didn’t realize how good she might be. I don’t know if anybody thought that she’d at any point be our No. 1 player on the team. And the last two seasons she really has been.”
Jackson had a breakthrough performance at the 5A regional tournament her sophomore year, when she shot a 75 and finished second. What she lacks in distance off the tee, she makes up with her short game.
Her last two seasons have had ups and downs with plenty of rounds in the mid-80s to low 90s. But Pekarek and Jackson’s fellow Lansing golfers know what she’s capable of.
And they know she belongs out there with them.
“Sometimes I have to remind myself that she’s a girl, because (since) I’ve been on the team, she’s always been beating everybody on the team,” says Greene, a junior in his third year with the Lions. “She’s just kind of one of the guys.”
For her part, Jackson hasn’t felt much need to prove herself among the boys — well, most of them. But she and her older brother David are very close — and very competitive.
“That’s pretty much why I play golf — just to compete with my brother,” she says.
That’s why the Kaw Valley League championship was so special. David had won the league title as a junior in 2002 but never medaled at state, Maria says.
That gives her motivation for Monday.
And if she can beat the other guys along the way to that goal, well, that’s all right, too.
“It’s always fun to beat the boys,” she says.
To reach Ryan Young, call 816-234-7747 or send e-mail to ryoung@kcstar.com
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