Cheboygan’s Maybank set to cap off remarkable girls golf career at fourth state finals

CHEBOYGAN – When Katie Maybank teed it up as a freshman in 2020, she was in a unique spot.

She wasn’t just playing the first high school golf tournament of her career. It was actually the first 18 holes she had ever walked and played at the same time.

She's come a long way since then.

Maybank, now a senior star for the Cheboygan Chiefs, will tee it up one final time for her high school when she competes in the fourth state finals of her career at Grand Valley State University’s The Meadows golf course on Friday.

“I’m super excited and I definitely wanted to make it, especially being my senior year, and it’s cool to make it all four years,” said Maybank. “I get a lot of the same feel, but (the state meet) is different than just being at an invitational. There’s bigger schools, it means more, and obviously you want to do well there.”

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Maybank stamped her ticket to another finals by tying for second place individually at a MHSAA Division 3 regional meet last week. The weather was difficult that day, but Maybank still managed to grind out an 82 during a tough round.

During her career, Maybank was a part of Cheboygan state-qualifying teams in 2020 and 2021 and then qualified individually in 2022. She made the top 20 at the finals held at Michigan State University last year.

As this weekend rolls around, she’s looking to take it a step further on the GVSU course.

“I’m aiming at maybe finishing in the top 10 this year,” Maybank said. “I just want to play steady golf and obviously have fun, because there’s so many friends and connections you can have out on the golf course, and it’s a game you can play your whole life. I’m just going to have fun with it, play my game and see where it takes me."

While she’s never played a round at The Meadows, she knows the place well. In 2021, Maybank watched her brother PJ Maybank III win the MHSAA Division 3 individual state title going away.

“It was super cool to just see everyone rooting for him, and I was rooting for him,” Maybank said of her brother, who now plays at the University of Oklahoma. “I’ve watched him play at Grand Valley several times. I’ve actually caddied for him there, so I definitely know the course."

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The meet will be a huge chance for Maybank to leave her mark on high school golf's biggest stage.

No matter how it ends, Maybank’s career has been nothing short of sensational. In a four-year stretch, she's won multiple times, broken the Cheboygan girls 18-hole school record with a 74, helped the Cheboygan girls team break the school record, and even made a hole-in-one.

What she’ll miss the most are those teammates who were there with her most of the way.

“I will miss it a lot, especially being a part of a team – and our team had such great chemistry,” Maybank said. “We’re all good friends, we all do things outside of golf, we still hang out. Just having the friendships – the friendships I made in high school on the golf team – and not getting to play with those girls anymore will be hard.

“It’s bittersweet.”

Maybank isn't exactly sure what the future holds, but if anything, she's found a sport that she'll enjoy playing for a long time.

“I didn’t really know where the game was going to take me, and I’m just learning with it and growing with it, and it’s been a lot of fun,” Maybank said. “It’s a game I can play my whole life even if I don’t take it much farther, but I’m hoping to play in college somewhere.”

Before the finals on Friday and Saturday, Maybank plays a practice round at GVSU on Thursday.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan girls golfer Katie Maybank to play in fourth state finals