The John Marshall Golf Team and John Marshall High School are very proud to announce that Lakyn Parker of Glen Dale has signed a Division II letter of intent to play golf next season for Coach Sue Vail at Wheeling University. Lakyn is the daughter of Roger and Erin Parker.
Parker is a three year member of the JM Golf team and this year became the first girl at John Marshall (and in West Virginia) to earn a varsity letter with both the girls and boys golf teams averaging under 47 shots per 9 hole rounds for both teams. During the season, she helped the girls to a 19-5 record and helped lead the team to their first victory in the OV Athletics Girls Championship where Lakyn made the All-Tournament Team. She also placed all three years in the top 25 of the WVSSAC Girls Invitational Golf Tournament.
This past summer, Ms. Parker won the girls senior high division in the Honeywell tournament at Moundsville Country Club, the Elks Tournament at Crispen Center, the Wheeling Country Club Invitational and the Kalkreuth Tournament at the Speidel Golf Complex at Oglebay.
John Marshall Coach Dave Gaudino says, “The future is very bright for this soon to be Cardinal because of her love and dedication to the game of golf and her hard work to improve each time she plays.”
Lakyn is equally dedicated and hard working in the classroom at John Marshall and carries a 4.26 gpa. In addition, she has completed honors courses in English, Pre-Calculus, Chemistry and Biology. Miss Parker is also a member of the first class of JM students to complete the state’s new pre-teaching program called, Careers in Education. Through this program she will complete four college level courses in education. The purpose of this program is to interest students in the field of education and help prepare them to be successful in their teacher preparation.
This season, Lakyn was one of eleven girls on this year’s John Marshall girls’ golf team. In 2017, John Marshall was the first school in West Virginia to have a full girls’ golf team. Miss Parker is the third JM female golfer to sign a DII letter of Intent in the past four years.
This past season, the John Marshall golf program had 11 boys and 11 girls participating and is led by Dave Gaudino. Bridget Carnahan serves as the girls coach and August Hanson serves as the swing coach.
Miss. Parker is especially excited to play for the Cardinals led by their legendary coach Sue Vail. One of only four females to be enshrined into the West Virginia State Golf Hall of Fame, Sue Vail will begin her 16th season as head coach of the women’s golf team at Wheeling University in 2020-21. Vail’s teams have won the Mountain East Conference Championship twice and have finished among the top-three teams in the twelve team conference in each season since the league’s inception in 2013.
As a player, Ms. Vail has had an active career in golf by winning the West Virginia Golf Association’s Women’s Championship eight times. She also won six-straight West Virginia Senior Amateur championships.
Coach Vail says, “I am so happy that we can provide Lakyn an opportunity to play golf at the collegiate level. She is passionate about the game, which will lead to her success.”
The John Marshall players, coaches, staff, and school administration congratulate Lakyn and wish her great success in the future.
