2015-16 Nebraska Women's Golf Guide | Page 16

14 2015-16 NEBRASKA WOMEN'S GOLF Haley Thiele Freshman Wahoo, Nebraska (Bishop Neumann) OUtlook (2015-16) Honors & Awards Trusted Choice Big “I” National Champion (2015) Tied for Third at Optimist International Junior Championship (2015) Fourth at Trusted Choice Big “I” (2014) Tied for Fifth at North & South Junior Amateur (2015) 12th at Trusted Choice Big “I” (2013) Two-Time Nebraska Girls Amateur of the Year (2013, 2014) Two-Time Nebraska Girls Match Play Champion (2013, 2014) Nebraska Girls Match Play Runner-Up (2015) Nebraska Girls Stroke Play Champion (2013) Nebraska Girls Stroke Play Runner-Up (2014, 2015) Three Top 15 Finishes at Nebraska Class C Boys State Tournament (2013, 2014, 2015) Three-Time Nebraska Four-State Team Member (2012, 2013, 2014) Second-Team All-Nebraska (Basketball, Omaha World-Herald, 2014, 2015) Third-Team Super-State (Basketball, Lincoln Journal Star, 2014, 2015) First-Team Class C-1 All-State (Basketball, 2014, 2015) Nebraska’s top junior player the past several years, Haley Thiele hopes to make an instant impact with the Huskers. The freshman from Wahoo, Neb., capped her outstanding junior career by winning the Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kan., in August. She joined current professional Maddie Shiels as the only Huskers to ever win a Big “I” title. It was Thiele’s fourth top-five finish at a major national event in the last two years. A two-time Nebraska Girls Amateur of the Year, Thiele finished fourth at the 2015 Nebraska Boys Class C State Tournament - the highest finish ever by a girl in a boys state golf tournament in Nebraska. She also led Bishop Neumann High School to a runner-up finish as a team. “I’ve followed Haley’s progress for a lot of years, and I knew very early she had what it took to be a high level Division I player,” Nebraska Coach Robin Krapfl said. “The hardest part was waiting so long before she could join our team. Haley is everything we look for in a student-athlete. She’s a great student with outstanding golf skills. She’s also a team player with an incredible work ethic, and she has a passion for the game. I think she has the potential to be the best we’ve ever had play for the Huskers.” High School/Amateur In the summer of 2015, Thiele captured the Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship a week after tying for third at the Optimist International Junior Championship. She also tied for fifth at the North & South Junior Amateur. In 2014, Thiele took fourth at the Trusted Choice Big “I” after finishing 12th at the event in 2013. A two-time Nebraska Girls Amateur of the Year (2013, 2014), Thiele claimed back-to-back state Girls Match Play crowns, while adding the Nebraska Girls Stroke Play title in 2013. She also won the Nebraska Junior PGA Championship in 2013. A three-time Nebraska Four-State Team member, Thiele is also a three-time Nebraska Class C Boys High School State Golf Tournament top-15 finisher. Bishop Neumann High School in Wahoo, Neb., does not sponsor girls golf, but Thiele helped Bishop Neumann to a Class C state runner-up finish in 2015 by finishing fourth individually (74-73-147) at Holmes Golf Course in Lincoln, just two strokes back of the boys state champion. Thiele tied for 11th at the 2014 Nebraska Class C tournament with a two-round total of 153 (80-73). She tied for 13th at the Class C boys meet as a sophomore with a 36-hole total of 161 (80-81). She finished 35th at the 2012 boys state tournament as a freshman with a two-round total of 168 (86-82). In the summer of 2014, Thiele qualified for the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur Championship by winning a sectional qualifying tournament at the Elks Country Club in Columbus with a one-under-par 71. She went on to compete at the U.S. Junior Championships in Flagstaff, Ariz. Thiele also qualified to compete at the 2015 Junior PGA Championships. She tied for 59th at the 2014 PGA Junior Championship at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C. Thiele defended her state junior match play title in 2014 with a win over her sister in the final. Thiele settled for second with a loss to her sister in the final in 2015. Thiele also finished second to her sister in the 2014 and 2015 state state stroke play events. Thiele was a three-sport high school standout at Bishop Neumann, competing in golf, basketball and volleyba