She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes to clear her mind. She opens them back up and swings; the ball flies into the air and lands near her target.

“Golf is definitely a mind game,” junior Makayla Gilliam said. “I have to mentally prepare and clear my mind before every swing.”

Makayla Gilliam has been playing golf since her freshman year. This year she was the only girl to compete for Buffalo and made it to regionals as an individual.

“Every year that I have played, there have always been more girls and we’ve advanced as a team,” Gilliam said. “This year, however, I was the only girl competing on the team and to advance individually was a very proud moment for me.”

At regionals Gilliam was in 37th place out of 77th girls on the first day. She scored 109 on the first day and 109 on the second day of competition.

“I think I did good the first day,” Gilliam said. “I was definitely nervous since it was my first time competing at that level.”

She says her favorite part about competing was the weather, which was very nice and did not influence her swings.

“The weather was beautiful and not as windy,” Gilliam said. “I’ve played in wind and it definitely doesn’t help, but that day, the air was calm.”

Gilliam said she definitely enjoyed stopping at the Blue Bell Factory to get ice cream. It was a reward to celebrate her advancing to regionals.

“I love ice cream. If I could eat it everyday, I would,” Gilliam said. “They had so many different flavors there and it was so hard for me to chose.”