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Lakeview’s Neumeister commits to CSU
Lakeview’s Neumeister commits to play
golf for the Vikings in Horizon League
By CURTIS PULLIAM
Kaylee Neumeister still has a golf ball from her freshman year at Lakeview High School.
She occasionally will toss it up in the air a few times and put it back down. It serves as the ultimate reminder of the day that changed her golfing career.
“It was probably the breaking point of my career,” Neumeister said. “I was disappointed, but it was the big push and motivator for me.”
Neumeister and Canton Central Catholic’s Michelle Vlacovsky lost a three-way playoff in the Division II district tournament in 2012. Rachel Sines of Poland won the playoff. All three girls shot 83.
“She told me afterwards that she wasn’t going to let it happen again,” said Bulldogs head coach Mike Turco. “That was the moment I knew I had something special.”
Neumeister has come through for herself and the Bulldogs over the past two seasons. She finished 11th in the state in 2013 and ninth last season. The Bulldogs were state runners-up last season.
“She is a true leader in every aspect on and off the golf course,” Turco said. “She’s a coach’s dream.”
Neumeister made her own dream come true as she committed to Cleveland State to play golf. The Vikings are a Division I program in the Horizon League.
“As soon as I stepped on to campus, I fell in love,” Neumeister said. “The coach [Steve Weir] was really nice and I met some of the girls and they were really nice, too.”
Proximity to home also played a role.
“Most of my family is originally from Cleveland so that helps,” Neumeister said. “I have relatives that live about 20 minutes away so it will be nice to get a home-cooked meal every once in a while.”
The most important factor that went into her choice was academics. She currently holds a 3.77 GPA at Lakeview.
“They had my program that I wanted to get into which is chemical engineering,” Neumeister said. “Then I want to get a masters in biomedical engineering.”
But before she sets sail to become a Viking Neumeister has one year of high school golf left.
Neumeister hopes to make it back to the state tournament with her team and improve individually.
“To win it [an individual state title] would be the goal,” Neumeister said. “But since a lot of the girls that finished higher than me last year were seniors, I’m thinking a top-five finish.”
But she knows a top-five finish at state and playing Division I college golf requires getting better.
“I think I’ll have to improve my distance swing since they play longer courses in college,” Neumeister said.
Her short game is also a factor this coming season.
“She is always working on her short game,” Turco said. “That is extremely important at the next level.”
Neumeister has dominated the All-American Conference. She is a three-time all-conference selection and was the medalist at the conference tournament last year.
But for now she wants to focus on the game she loves.
“It’s different every time you play,” Neumeister said. “It’s not like basketball where it’s the same thing every time. No course is the same and no shot is the same.”