Cori Lee, a junior on Buffalo Grove’s varsity golf team, recently represented the bison at state. First picking up the club at just five years old, Cori’s been into the sport for over a decade now. Making it to this competition is no easy task, making it all the more impressive that Cori did it as a junior. In order to qualify, he placed top 5 individually at regionals, earning himself a medal. Ahead of the tournament, he spent his time doing “at least one or two hours” of putting drills, devoting his little free time to preparing for the big day. “It’s kind of tough with the schoolwork and everything, but I think I still prepared pretty well,” said Cori. 

However, when the day arrived, Cori says that he “didn’t feel like [he] played well” at state. The young golfer survived the first cut of the competition, in which the bottom 40 performers were sent home after the first day. Cori stated that this was his “smaller goal,” to make it past the cut. Unfortunately, he was unable to reach “one of his bigger goals” which was to get all-state by placing in the top ten. Cori placed 32nd out of around 120 competitors, by no means a bad performance, but simply not good enough in his eyes. This setback certainly did not discourage him, however, as he claims to have learned a valuable lesson. “I learned that I shouldn’t put too much pressure on it,” Cori tells. “I also was thinking about colleges, like if I don’t play well I might not make it to a D1 (Division 1) college, but I don’t think I needed to put that pressure on myself, I just needed to play.” 

Carrying this experience with him, Cori now sets his sights on next season’s possibilities. “Next season, I want to try to get first place in state,” he says, as well as admitting that he wants “to do better throughout the regular season and postseason.” “I’m not satisfied with how I played this season.” Motivation has never been a problem for Cori. In his words, he has “always wanted to be the best.” His passion for the sport is what keeps him going even when things don’t go his way. “That’s how I get out there. It feels amazing just to practice,” Cori adds.

There are many things we as students can learn from Cori, from his ability to balance school and sports to his resilience in the face of adversity. His achievements this season and aspirations for the future are an inspiration to all at Buffalo Grove.