Sandusky's girls golf team takes 'a lot of pride' in being school's first

SANDUSKY — Katy May didn't believe what her coach kept saying, that she was a part of Sandusky High School's first-ever girls golf team. But eventually, Dave Colatruglio repeated it enough that it finally sunk in. There really hadn't been a team in the past that had been lost to history. May and her teammates are the history. "Being a part of the first girls golf team is something that I never thought I would do upon entering high school," May said. "It never occurred to me. To be part of it now is kind of surreal." May and three other Sandusky seniors — Dasia Allison and the Nitschke twins, Sydney and Rachel — are the top four in the Blue Streaks' (3-7) inaugural lineup. They're joined by Emma Biecheler and Elli Pitcher playing for Colatruglio, who also coaches Sandusky's boys team. "There's a lot of pride in it," Allison said. "I'm really happy that we're gonna be a part of this history forever." For the seniors, being members of this first girls team is a fitting reward. Rachel Nistcke joined Sandusky's boys golf team as a freshman, and Sydney, May and Allison all followed as sophomores. "I feel like I became a better golfer because we played guys," May said, "but I'm so happy to be playing girls now because it's a much better experience." Rachel Nitschke turned into the trend-setter at Sandusky. As a freshman, she was hoping to find an activity that could carry over to the rest of her life, not just high school. That's what brought her to golf. A year later, an already close friend group that included the twins along with May and Allison all became members of the Blue Streaks team. It takes a minimum of four golfers to be a scoring team in high school competition, and Colatruglio didn't really have the numbers on the boys side to split the group at that point. "It was rough," Allison said. "It was definitely very challenging to get it down. Golf is a really tough sport. Once you kind of get into it and find your groove, it gets better." It was in that challenge that Sandusky's now-seniors found their motivation to keep coming out to the course. They weren't equipped to win matches against longer-hitting boys, but golf has a built-in self-competition mechanism. Each time a golfer takes the course, he or she can aim to play better than the last time. "As I progressively saw myself getting better, it became a lot easier to enjoy the sport," Sydney Nitschke said. "It was a lot of fun… it felt like week by week I could see myself improving on every little thing." May characterized matches against boys as "glorified practice" for the other team, but "serious practice" for the Blue Streaks. She'd never played golf outside of mini golf, which she said she wasn't very good at. But it was in those moments that golf truly became less of a competition and more of a game for these Blue Streaks. In speaking with the Register, Sydney Nitschke acknowledged that she kept saying the word "fun." That's what it was, though. There wasn't a chance of winning, so the time spent out on the golf course together could really just be focused on enjoyment and improvement. "It was always challenging to see these boys being so competitive with us, and it always felt like we didn't really have a chance since we were so new," Sydney Nitschke said. But at the end of last season, Colatruglio realized the numbers might add up to a girls team in 2021, and as the fall season approached, the Blue Streaks had a schedule in place. They were excited, but also unsure. They'd spent the past few years playing with and against boys, and they weren't sure how things would change. "At first, I was really concerned about playing with girls," May said, "because girls can be ruthless. I was like, what's gonna happen?" Soon, Sandusky realized how different it was. On the course, they could have conversations with girls their own age playing the same sport. And maybe the biggest difference was in competitiveness. Playing a girls schedule means that when Sandusky shows up to a match, it feels a win is there to be had. "It's really amazing going in with the mentality that we can win a match and we really have a chance," Rachel Nitschke said, "and it's gonna be fun with the girls and we can have conversations about stuff we relate to and it's just really amazing." The Blue Streaks' first-ever girls golf victory came Aug. 9, against Norwalk. May shot a season-best 50. Allison said she was in shock and didn't know how to feel. Rachel Nitsckhe called it surprising, and Sydney Nitschke said "so much was going through my mind." But when it sunk in, the Blue Streaks celebrated, even stopping at Texas Roadhouse for a team dinner. "It was really exciting for them, and I think it brought all the girls closer together, too," Colatruglio said. "It made it much more of a team." Since then, Sandusky's recorded two more wins, and there's still another month of golf to go. It's not certain whether there'll be a girls golf team next year for the Blue Streaks. With four seniors graduating, the numbers may simply not add up. But that won't stop the current Blue Streaks from spending the rest of the year working the hallways to try to continue what they've started. "It makes me have a lot of pride in myself and a lot of pride in the girls and a lot of pride in the school," Rachel Nitschke said. "It's really just an experience to be first in something and be able to hopefully get some girls out to continue that and have it forever." The four Sandusky seniors who spent multiple years struggling against boys golf competition wouldn't change a thing. They've gained a lifelong sport and lifelong friends. They've learned how to persevere even when a swing or two might not connect the way they want. And no matter what happens to the program, May, Allison, the Nitschke twins, Biecheler and Pitcher will always be the first Sandusky High School girls golf team. "This has been one of the best experiences in my high school career," May said. "It's not necessarily about being the best, it's about coming out and enjoying what you're doing. I played sports in the past. I played volleyball, basketball, swimming. And I had never excelled at that, and it really hurt my self-confidence. But with golf, I'm not the best player, but it still makes me want to come out and do better. "I don't get beat down when I have a bad hole. There's another hole after that. I think it has really been a pivotal experience for me."