St. Charles North freshman Kayla Beu is the 2024 Kane County Chronicle Girls Golfer of the Year

It can be a lot of pressure when a teammate says they’re hoping you can help lead the team back to state for the first time since 2018.

Especially when you’re a freshman in your first days of high school sports.

That’s the situation St. Charles North freshman Kayla Beu found herself in only days before tryouts when one of her teammates approached her and said she hoped the freshman could help lead the North Stars back downstate.

With the pressure on, Beu didn’t let it get to her. She became the top golfer for St. Charles North, earning medalist honors at the DuKane Conference tournament and helping the North Stars earn a team appearance at state for the first time since 2018.

“I just remembered thinking, ‘Oh, wow, that’s a possibility,’ ‘’ Beu said. “And that’s what ended up happening and I’m very grateful. There wasn’t a lot of pressure. It was just work hard and then go play to have fun.”

For her efforts, Beu has been named the 2024 Kane County Chronicle Girls Golfer of the Year.

“She didn’t come in as a normal freshman who’s really nervous or introverted. She already had a few connections and played a bit of competitive golf over the summer, so she already sort of had a place,” North Stars coach Steve Dodd said. “Usually, you expect your freshmen to trickle in and find their footing after a few weeks or even a month. But not Kayla. She was in and did well right from the start.”

Beu said it was a bit of an adjustment balancing golf with school work, but she and Dodd felt her transition to playing team golf was relatively flawless. She slid into the No. 1 spot at the start of the season. Dodd said a good part of her success was because senior teammates not only accepted Beu early in the season but encouraged her to take the top spot.

“Rather than having the thought that she was going to take an older member’s spot on the team, the older members were telling her that she had to take their spots,” Dodd said. “And I think the way that the seniors approached the freshmen, telling them that there is an expectation on them and it starts from the start of the season, I loved that leadership from them.

“And credit to Kayla. She took that on the shoulders and rolled with it.”

Beu’s success on the golf course was noticeable from the start. She earned medalist honors in six of her first seven matches of the season.

With the postseason approaching, Beu knew she needed to make a change to her style of play to keep her success going.

“She said she wanted to play more ‘boring golf,’ where she took less off the driver off the tee, focused on approach shots and had a really tight game around the green,” Dodd said. “And that’s what she executed. It’s very mature the way that she approached that change.

“She started to be intelligent in the way that she played. And that was very different from the start of the season, where she just played golf the way that everyone expects you to play.”

The approach worked in Beu’s favor. Not only did she take home the conference title, she finished third at the regional and was fifth at the sectional to lead St. Charles North back to state.

Dodd said he only noticed Beu struggle once all season. That was during the first round of the state tournament and it didn’t take him long to realize why. The freshman was teeing off alongside the top players from Glenbrook North, Hinsdale Central and Lincoln-Way East, who were all upperclassmen who led their teams to top-five finishes at state. Glenbrook North won the team title.

Beu managed to keep pace at state, finishing 39th with a 17-over par to lead the North Stars to seventh place.

“To be alongside that level, being two or three years younger than them in terms of experience, that was tough,” Dodd said. “But she still went out and scored, competed with them and brought home a lot of experience. And I’m sure that experience is going to push her on even further.”

Beu wasn’t the only freshman on the North Stars’ roster to make an instant impact. Abby Gizewicz emerged as another top freshman for the program and usually was the team’s No. 2 golfer.

“Having Abby was amazing,” Beu said. “Her and I could share the same experiences and navigate freshman year together as a team and it’s great to have her as a competitor. We’re also friends outside of golf, so it’s nice that we can share that trait and that we got to succeed in the golf world together this season.”

With both players having three years left with the North Stars, Dodd said he couldn’t be more excited for Beu and Gizewicz to develop into leaders on the team and hopefully propel St. Charles North back downstate for years to come.

While Beu also hopes to make it back to state, her goals are a little bit bigger.

“I definitely want to perform better on the course and qualify for state, and granted I get down there the next three years, perform as good as I can,” Beu said. “Who knows, maybe if it all lines up, maybe I can win a state championship and maybe play Division I golf in college. That’s the dream.”

All-Area first team

Kayla Beu, freshman, St. Charles North

Bridget Brennan, junior, St. Francis

Molly Brennan, senior, St. Francis

Paige Flanigan, junior, Geneva

Abby Gizewicz, freshman, St. Charles North

Izzy Krosse, senior, St. Charles North

Kailey Kunstman, junior, Kaneland

Manuela Ramirez, senior, St. Charles East

Natalie Salazar, senior, Aurora Central Catholic

Nora Schwartz, sophomore, Aurora Central Catholic

Abby Sheehan, sophomore, Batavia