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Liberty High School’s ‘Big 3’ leads team to title

BY DEREK MOSKAL Peoria Times Staff Writer

The Liberty High School girls golf team outlasted Xavier and Hamilton high schools to win the D1 State Championship.

“It’s been an awesome ride watching these girls, especially on day two coming down the stretch,” said Kyle Pooler, who is in his second year as head coach.

Prior to the 2020 season, Pooler had not coached golf, nor was he involved in the sport.

“I swing a club at a ball, and I try to hit it closer to the hole every time I swing. That’s the extent of my golf expertise,” he said.

Despite having minimal experience coaching golf, Pooler spent 24 years helming football teams. He carries this winning mentality in every sport he coaches.

“I’m a high-expectation guy no matter what I coach,” he said. “If you’re trying to play a game or a sport, and you’re trying to play for second place, why are you playing?”

That’s what he shared with the athletes’ parents who said they hope the team lands within the top three in the state.

“I said we need to stop. Stop saying top three,” he said.

“We are either going to try to win the state championship or we aren’t. If we keep saying the top three, we’ll be satisfied with it. So, I tried to get them to change that mindset into winning the state championship, and that’s where our mindset needs to be,” Pooler said.

The players bought into Pooler and his style.

“His job isn’t to adjust our game but more of teaching the team aspect of playing, getting us through that part, and making sure we are all good and have what we need,” senior Mattie Frick said.

Coming into the season, Pooler knew he had three girls who would carry the team. They were Frick and juniors Brooke McGlasson and Annika Saida. Pooler referred to them as the “Big 3.”

The defending state champion, Frick participated in the state championship all four years she’s been at Liberty. After winning state last year, she placed second at the national tournament. Still, she wasn’t satisfied.

“I don’t necessarily look at myself as someone who is going to win every tournament,” she said. “I still look at myself as having a lot of work to do. I need to work really hard to maintain where I am and get better. I think I have the personality to always improve and not be satisfied.”

Pooler knew of her work ethic when he started coaching. Already committed to play at the University of Illinois next year, Frick had unfinished business at Liberty.

“Anybody who can spend seven hours a day out on the golf course when it’s 110 out is very dedicated to what she’s doing,” Pooler said. “She’s super focused on doing everything the right way and being the best golfer and teammate she can be.” He noticed that about each of his Big 3. “Work ethic everywhere. The thing about these girls is that they would do anything and everything they can to get better,” he said. Other than the “Big 3,” Pooler had to choose two others for state.

“It was a matter of getting the experience we needed,” Pooler said.

“My top three really didn’t need to play a whole lot. They were going to go in and do their thing for the team. So, it was the final two for me to figure out.”

They decided on junior Teaen Sweet and sophomore Kaitlin Anderson. With the five golfers in play, the team headed down to the Tucson Omni National Golf Club with an underdog mentality.

Throughout the first day, Frick had her eye on team and individual titles. However, when Hamilton High School’s Jennifer Seo took a healthy lead, Frick shifted strictly to a team mentality.

“Middle of my round on the second day, I figured she’s playing great, so I let my focus go more toward the team, help my teammates, and take on the team victory, which in the end is much better,” Frick said.

At the end of the first day, Liberty had a slim 2-stroke lead over Xavier High School with Hamilton High School close behind.

“At dinner that night we just talked about, ‘Look, we may have the lead, but we still are the underdogs.’ I looked at some of them and said, ‘You can shoot better, you can shoot better.’ And they all agreed,” Poole said.

Saida said she could play better.

“When I ended up on the first day, my course management mistakes took over my score,” Saida said. “The next day I came back and told myself that I was ready and I wasn’t going to make silly mistakes. I know how the course is, and I know how to play.”

Pooler told her to stop chasing birdies and shoot for pars, which is what he needed. However, she double bogeyed the first hole on the second day, seemingly erasing the lead that the team set on the first day. “I didn’t let that hole get to me. My mentality has gotten really good this season,” Saida said.

“So, I just let it go and said that I can do this.”

She finished the day with one of her best scores and placed 20th in the tournament. She was in one of the first groups that finished, so she watched her teammates and the scoreboard unfold for the remainder of the tournament.

For personal reasons, McGlasson didn’t look at the scoreboard while she was playing.

“Honestly, it was one of the hardest things I did other than play, because you want to know where you are. But at the same time, you just want to keep the focus,” she said.

Pooler asked her to avoid stalking the scoreboard so she could stay focused.

“All you can control is the best you can play,” McGlasson said.

Heading into the tournament, she aspired to crack the top 10, and her eighth-place finish did exactly that. Finally, once she finished, she sat back and

The team, from left, is Kea Kohatsu, Teaen Sweet, Kaitlyn Anderson, Mattison (Mattie) Frick, Brooke McGlasson, Annika Saida and Mariela Bierberach. They are coached by Kyle Pooler, back. (Photo courtesy of the Liberty High School girls golf team)

watched Frick close it out.

Despite the close score, they all said that when they saw Frick on the 18th fairway with a 3-stroke lead, it was over.

“It was sealed up as Mattie was coming down 18. So, I texted a lot of people that we were going to win the state championship,” Pooler said.

Liberty beat Xavier by three strokes. Frick placed second overall, but the team victory was better than the individual title.

“There were a lot of tears. It was the most incredible feeling ever. And to be able to share that feeling with four other girls that you worked really hard with and knowing you get to share that experience with them,” Frick said.

“It was a shock. I knew we could do it, but I didn’t really feel like we did it. We were just in shock when we won,” McGlasson said.

The work isn’t quite done for the Lions, though. Winning state qualified them to play at the National Tournament in North Carolina in June.

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