'It kind of felt like a family': Cheboygan's Clark to play golf at University of Olivet
CHEBOYGAN – Emily Clark has been around sports most of her life.
For a while, however, the Cheboygan senior wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue her athletics career after high school. But about two weeks ago, Clark decided that she wanted to give it a go at the next level.
On Wednesday, Clark made it official when she signed to play women’s golf at the University of Olivet next season during a ceremony inside the Cheboygan High School auditorium. During her senior golf campaign, Clark received interest from Olivet, a school she was excited to check out. After visiting, she liked what the Comets had to offer.
“It kind of felt like a family,” Clark said of Olivet. “Everyone was really welcoming, and I liked the campus, and they had what I wanted to do for academics, and their team kind of felt like the same vibe as the team here. It means a lot to me because I’ve grown up playing sports and I’ve never not played sports, so to continue in college is really cool.”
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Clark’s choice to join Olivet comes following an impressive golf career at Cheboygan, where she helped the Chiefs qualify for state finals as a sophomore. Over the last two seasons, Clark and the Chiefs won multiple invitationals and just missed out on qualifying for states.
While the talent on the course has stood out for years, Cheboygan golf coach Sean McNeil said it’s Clark’s team-first mentality that will benefit the Olivet program once she arrives.
“Working with the other golfers is not going to be a negative force, it’s going to be a positive force for their team, like she has been for us," McNeil said of Clark. "She’s got kind of that light personality that if she sees somebody else down, she can boost them up just from looking across. She’s aware and empathetic with people who might be struggling and kind of helps them out.”
Throughout her athletic career, which has also seen her thrive in basketball and softball, Clark has shown great resiliency, especially considering she’s suffered multiple injuries. One of those came as a junior, when she didn’t return until midway through her golf campaign. But when healthy, she’s a positive to any squad.
“(Trying to overcome injuries) definitely took a lot out of me but by the end of this year, I think my mental strength came back a little, my confidence, and I think that helped,” Clark said.
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With her commitment to Olivet, Clark joins Northwood University signee Katie Maybank as the second player from last year’s Cheboygan team to commit to play at the college level.
“Emily was enjoying the game so much and worked so hard to get through some of those tough times with injuries, so I’m glad she’s made the decision to go for it,” McNeil said. “I’m really excited for her, and it’s great for our program.”
Clark said she’ll major in chemistry and forensic science while at Olivet.
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's Emily Clark signs to play for Olivet women's golf team
