Congratulations to Ashley Wells for being named the News-Gazette's Player of the Year for the 2nd straight year! Below is the article: "CHAMPAIGN — Ashley Wells would have been The News-Gazette’s Girls’ Golfer of the Year again even if she didn’t make it to state. That’s how good she was this fall. The St. Thomas More senior was the only area girls’ golfer with an 18-hole scoring average below 80. She won the Illini Prairie Conference title by three strokes with a personal-best round of 74. And she won an individual Class 1A regional championship by seven strokes. To put a bow on her high school career, Wells finished 14th at the 1A state tournament in mid-October. Clear-cut back-to-back winner. “Last year, I wasn’t expecting it at all. I had no idea,” Wells said. “After that, I made it my goal to try for it again. This being my senior year, it was my last shot, and I just really wanted it. That’s just part of my nature. I’m very competitive, and I want to win. All those hours practicing didn’t feel like work to me. They felt fun and rewarding because I got to see my work pay off. It’s a game against yourself, and I tried to go out there every day and get a little bit better.” All that said, the road did almost end before state. After her impressive showing Oct. 1 at the Monticello Regional held on the University of Illinois Orange Course in Savoy that saw her shoot a 78, Wells had to win a one-hole playoff at the Effingham Sectional on Oct. 7 just to snag the last individual spot for state. She went out of bounds on the first hole and came away with a 9, already 5 over par. It didn’t get much better from there, as she finished the front nine with a 16-over-par 52, her worst nine holes since her freshman season. At one point, Wells lined up a short par putt that would have gotten her back on track, but she missed it. That’s when she knew she was in trouble. “I just didn’t go out in the right headspace,” Wells said. “Obviously, my goal was to make state. I had other stuff going on in my head, and I couldn’t get it out as hard as I tried. Coach came over and walked with me and tried to help me. I finished nine, and she was like, ‘You’ve got to figure this out. You’ve got nine holes left to turn it around. At this point, there’s nothing to lose.’ I guess I just turned it on for the last nine holes. I was like, ‘I’m going to state. That’s the only option.’” STM coach Kim Zahrn was helping her other players during Wells’ blowup. Zahrn all but guaranteed Wells would make state while talking to The News-Gazette after the regional round, and it was starting to look like she jinxed it. “She said, ‘I can’t do anything. All I can think about is this could be my last round,’” Zahrn recalled from when she finally caught up with Wells. “I said, ‘This is not your last round. Get that out of your head.’ We finished strong, but we were nail-biting.” Wells shot a 2-over-par 38 on the back nine, mixing in a birdie and five pars to finish with a 90 and complete the biggest turnaround of the tournament. But that was only half the battle. Wells tied Villa Grove’s Ella Schweighart for the 10th and final spot to advance to state. Lucky for Wells, her momentum carried into the playoff, as she almost chipped in for eagle but tapped in for birdie and finally breathed a sigh of relief. “It was a great way to make it to state, let me tell you,” Zahrn said with a laugh. Wells surprised herself by qualifying for state last year, finishing 61st with rounds of 92 and 95, and she was determined to improve. Once she stepped on that stage again, Wells was back to her usual self, carding rounds of 82 and 76 to place 14th like her sectional round never even happened. “Last year, I was just happy to make it. This year, I was more relaxed, and it was my goal all year to make it to state,” Wells said. “I had been there, I knew what it was like, I knew I could do it and I knew I could make it better. I wanted to have fun — why else are you there? — but again, I’m very competitive, so my fun is doing well and winning. The first day was all right, but I realized, ‘There’s no reason I shouldn’t be in the 70s here.’ The second day, I went out and was like, ‘You’re shooting under 80.’ It was just this mindset, and that helped me stay focused.” Wells’ dramatic finish to her high school career also checked the boxes of all three goals Zahrn set for her a year ago. Shortly after Wells’ breakout junior season, Zahrn wrote her a card that challenged her to win a regional title, get through sectionals and place in the top 20 at state. It was a fitting end for Wells, who almost single-handedly revived the STM girls’ golf program during her four years there. The Sabers won a fifth consecutive regional championship in 2020, but going into 2021, Zahrn’s first year leading the program, STM could barely field a team, if you could call it a team at all. At the start of Wells’ freshman season, she was one of only two golfers on the roster. So, Wells started recruiting all her friends to play. Before long, the Sabers were back to their competitive ways, and they won another regional title in 2023 before placing second this year. “This young lady is exceptional,” Zahrn said. “She’s the one who got most of these girls on board. She’s just eager to build the program. She wants a team because she realizes that she’d be OK by herself, but it’s more fun as a team. When we won regionals last year, she really realized how important it was. That’s one of her fondest memories because it was as a team. Her scores always help, but the other girls know that Ashley also needs her teammates.” Wells is proud of her accomplishments, but the aspect she’s most proud of is bringing back that sense of family to the Sabers. This season actually was a family affair for Wells, who competed alongside her sister, freshman Taylor Wells. Ashley almost got emotional talking about how much she’s going to miss that aspect, even if Taylor won’t miss the times Ashley would drag her to the course to practice in the pouring rain. Ashley sees a lot of potential in her sister and the rest of the underclassmen, and she’s happy she could be a part of their introduction to high school golf. “It feels good knowing I helped make this team and this program stronger and worked to build it up,” Ashley said. “My freshman year, I had no idea I’d take on that role to help the program and see it succeed. I’m leaving, but I truly believe those girls have a really good chance to do well. If they put in the work, I believe they’ll come together and keep that success going.”