Devon Meyer made history a season ago as the first MFL MarMac girl to qualify for the state golf meet. Now, she’s making history again as a two-time qualifier—the first girl to do so and only the second MFL MarMac golfer after Nick Krambeer.

The senior punched her ticket after placing fifth at the Class 2A regional final at South Hills Golf Course in Waterloo on May 20. She shot an 89 across 18 holes, trailing only Lexy Benham of Denver (80), Morgan Krall of Jesup (80), Paycee Sorgenfrey of Tipton (85) and Taryn Moser of North Fayette Valley (86).

The Bulldogs placed fourth as a team with a score of 423, with Hadyn Meyer also contributing a 108, Taylor Randall a 110 and Hannah Jacobson a 116.

Speaking a day later, Meyer felt relieved. She said she didn’t play as well as she could have.

“We went into it knowing that I had to play good to go. It was a tough course,” she said.

Coach Jake Wilke expressed pride for the team’s leader and top scorer.

“She’s put in a lot of time and a lot of effort. I’ve seen how much she’s worked in the offseason, how much better she’s gotten,” he said.

Meyer finished in the top 15 of Class 2A at last year’s state tournament. After a little break, she got back to work over the summer, chipping and putting. Her dedication to her craft amped up as spring approached.

“It was hard for me at the beginning of the year because I felt like I should start where I ended at the end of last year, but that’s not always how that works. You kind of have to restart a little bit. It starts out rough and then it gets better. So that was hard to adjust to,” Meyer explained. “The hardest part for me is the mindset of it. It frustrates me when I’m not playing as good as I could be. So just trying to work through that and not worrying so much about every single tiny thing I’m doing wrong. My mental game is probably the thing we have to work on the most out of everything.”

Her dad, Mike, is an assistant golf coach for MFL MarMac and has been golfing with Meyer and her sister Hadyn since they could walk. He’s been a big help, and like last year, will be able to join her on the state course.

“She’s been swinging a golf club since she was three,” he recalled. “It’s been a family thing for me and them, and it’s been enjoyable. Once she got old enough—sixth, seventh grade—then we start saying, ‘Now we need to work on [the swing]. Here’s how we’re gonna hit the ball. Here’s the position of our swing.’”

His words of advice are to “let go of a bad shot right after it happens. And celebrate the good shots.”

Meyer said playing against tougher competition this season has also further prepared her for the state stage. At one meet against New Hampton and Crestwood, she beat some of the top golfers in the state—previous place winners.

“It’s kind of intimidating knowing I have to golf with these other girls that are really good. But I ended up going to that meet and I beat both of them, which was a goal that we had at the beginning of the season,” she said. “That really gave me a confidence boost of like, ‘I can do this too.’”

The Class 2A girls state golf meet will be held on Thursday and Friday, May 28 and 29, at American Legion Post #46 Golf Course in Marshalltown. Golfers will complete 18 holes each day.

Meyer said some shorter practices were planned the last few days, including chipping and putting on the greens in Prairie du Chien, which are more like those she’ll see at state.

“When you get down to state in the postseason, the greens are really fast—and big,” she said. “I’ll also be honing in on accuracy, yardages and distances and just aiming points, stuff like that.”

She’ll have a practice round and walk the course in Marshalltown on Wednesday, before officially teeing off on Thursday.

Wilke is looking forward to seeing Meyer play.

“Devon’s capable of playing with anybody. She’s gonna have some good competition, but she also knows she’s good. She also knows what she’s getting herself into this year,” he said. “ It’s a 36-hole grind. There are gonna be a couple bad holes, but limit those mistakes and make some putts and have some good chips, and really enjoy the experience, too.”

Mike Meyer agreed.

“She’s a lot better player than she was even last year. I hope she takes a deep breath and enjoys the moment,” he said.

Meyer is proud to return to state and of the legacy she’s leaving behind for the MFL MarMac golf program.

“It’s nice to know that the work I put in is leaving something for other people to look up to and know that somebody from our school can do something like that,” she reflected. “Sometimes, when you go to a smaller school, it seems like maybe that’s not possible for us, but showing them it is possible and showing them also that you have to work hard for it. You actually have to put the time and effort in to be able to get to that point if that’s something they want to do.”