Hiebner Ties for 4th at State Golf Championship
One week ago, Heartland golfer Mia Hiebner tied for fourth place at the NSAA Girls’ State Golf Championship. Along with that award, she set two school records for having a combined score of 161 and shooting a 77 on her second day. Overall, she had a tremendous season, especially as a sophomore. Enjoy learning more about her golf story in this interview.
How long have you been golfing?
I've been golfing ever since I was little, but I started really taking it seriously my eighth grade summer and have been consistently golfing all year round since then.
How did you gain an interest in golf?
As the classic little sister I am, I just wanted to do what my big brother was doing, so I can give Mason most of the credit for getting me interested. My dad was also the one who put golf on the TV on Sundays for us to watch and relax. I can remember watching and always wanting to go out and do it myself. Both of them were also kind and patient enough to let me go on golfing excursions with them on Sundays and occasionally Saturdays.
What were your personal highlights from the season?
One of my favorite meets, other than my second round at state, would be the scramble in Central City. I would've never thought Tara and I would shoot a 63, and hearing the GICC team in utter shock when they realized they were second is something I will never forget. I was also extremely happy to tie my PR at districts when it really mattered. I had a big fear the whole season that I would do really good in the regular season and mess it up during districts and state, but I'm really happy that my two best rounds were when it counted.
How did you adjust to having a new coach this year?
I felt like having a new coach wasn't too much of an adjustment since Mr. Buzek would come in for practice when Mrs. Mestl couldn't make it. He went with us my freshman year to that scramble, and we had a super fun time. I would also come over to the course during the boys’ season to practice, and I saw how he ran things.
How did you have such an awesome second day of the state tournament?
After the first day of state, I wasn't too happy with my score, and there were a lot of things I wanted to do differently the next day. I think I learned more from Monday's round than I did from our actual practice round, so I could use the things I learned to my advantage on Tuesday. I had the motivation and determination to do better the second day because I wasn't happy about my first round. I gained my confidence back before round two and every aspect of my game was pretty on point that day.
How did you feel about breaking the school records?
It feels absolutely amazing to break a school record at age 15. I can remember when I was younger looking up at the records and wondering if my name was ever going to be on there. It was super emotional on the 18th hole after I finished because I knew what I did and all the hard work to not only break 80 for the first time this season, but to get those records was super exciting.
What are your goals as you continue your high school golf career?
I have two big goals at the moment. One of them is to get my name all over that record board which would require me to break two more records. Even beating my own records that I hold right now would be a big win. My second goal is to consistently shoot in the 70s the rest of my high school career.
Congratulations to Mia, and we look forward to watching her golf journey for two more years!