By Reagan Hoverman

Going into her freshman year, Prescott’s Rhi Stutz hadn’t ever given golf much of a second thought. However, experimenting one night in the fall of 2018 in the basement of Ava Salay’s house, Stutz began a golf journey that led to three state championships and an opportunity to play Division 2 golf.

That night with the Salay family was the beginning of a golf career that now takes outgoing senior Stutz to Kutztown University, a public institution in rural Pennsylvania that she hand-picked because of its academic courses and golf program.

Stutz joined the aforementioned Salay in making it official with their respective collegiate golf programs when she signed a letter of intent to continue her academic and athletic career on National Signing Day on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at Prescott High School. She spoke about selecting a university that fit her post-secondary needs.

“We started by looking at D2 schools that had my major, marine biology, which cut about 50% of D2 schools off,” Stutz said of choosing an institution. “What brought me to Kutztown was their partnership with a research facility off the coast of Virginia where you can do summer classes.”

After realizing that Kutztown had academic prowess, Stutz began looking into the coaching staff and seeing if the athletic fit would be just as seamless. Stutz spoke about the coaching staff and making a visit to Kutztown which made the decision an easy one.

“When I visited there, I kind of just knew,” Stutz said. “I got to visit a class and a lab. We started with like 120 schools and then we narrowed it down to 10. Once I went (to Kutztown) I knew I wanted to go there.”

Stutz goes into college having been an integral cog in three consecutive high school state championship teams, but her journey to golf stardom was anything but conventional. Salay’s aforementioned basement proved to be the start of a special career. Prescott head coach Chad Salay spoke about Stutz’s career on National Signing Day.

“Rhi’s journey has been amazing,” Chad Salay said. “Rhi is extremely intelligent, she plays the game with joy, always has a smile on her face and she’s always had incredible determination. She always strived to be a better golfer and played in tournaments in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin and was always seeking events that would take her out of her comfort zone knowing she would be a better golfer because of it.” Part of Stutz’s outstanding journey has been her continued dedication to a sport that she fell in love with during the fall of her freshman year. After being introduced to the game as a freshman, she slowly honed her craft and slowly transformed herself into a player that was a pivotal part of multiple state championship teams.

After spending her freshman year on the JV roster, Stutz moved to the varsity and helped Prescott win its first Division 2 State Championship in school history. After a repeat in her junior campaign, Stutz went into her senior season as a twotime state champion on a quest to help Prescott become the fifth school in state history to win three consecutive titles.

Stutz struggled on the first day of the tournament and finished with a round of 94. As a program, Prescott trailed by six strokes heading into the second day of the tournament. That’s when Stutz put together a round of 74, which was one of the best scores of the day for both Division 1 and D2, and included a clutch 10-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to help send Prescott to a playoff.

“This year my favorite moment was when I made my final putt on the second day on hole nine (18) to go one-up on The Prairie School,” Stutz said when asked about her favorite golf memory. “My second favorite moment was watching Gabbi (Matzek) make her putt to solidify the win.”

Without Stutz’s bounceback round, Prescott would have come up short in the quest for a third state title. Instead, the Cardinals took home the title in a one-hole playoff and sent the seniors out with one last state championship. After that round of 74, Chad Salay spoke about Stutz’s response to adversity with everything on the line.

“I know that (round of 94) shattered her yesterday,” Chad Salay in Madison after winning the state championship. “To come back and shoot a 74, she was 20 strokes better today than yesterday. That’s just crazy. That is her champion mentality to fight back.”

That round of 74 proved to be the most important of Stutz’s career thus far. Although playing great golf is important, at National Signing Day Stutz stated that the secret to Prescott’s success throughout the years was the camaraderie and the family- like bonds that the roster built.

“I think what made us such a great team is we’re basically a family,” Stutz said. “We all work so hard and everyone is pushing each other and we’re such a good family. There is so much competition and love, it’s just a great team to be a part of. I don’t think I could have played college golf without this team because of how competitive it is.”

Stutz rides off into the sunset as one of the founding members of a Prescott Cardinals dynasty. Her 2022 nine-hole scoring average of 41 is the fifth-best in Prescott history, as Ava Salay owns all of the top four. Stutz also earned All-State Honorable Mention, was the Middle Border Conference Runner- Up as an individual and was selected to First-Team All-Conference for the Middle Border.

After graduating from Prescott High School in May 2023, Stutz will move to Kutztown University and begin studying marine biology while also competing on the women’s golf team.

Prescott senior golfer Rhi Stutz, assistant coach Darren Reiter (left) and head coach Chad Salay (right) celebrate National Signing Day at the Prescott High School on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Rhi Stutz was all smiles after rolling in a birdie putt during her round of 74 on the second day of the WIAA Division 2 Girls Golf State Tournament at University Ridge in Madison earlier this year. Stutz’s 74 helped Prescott claim a third consecutive state championship. Photo by Reagan Hoverman