MCC golf teams show promise for upcoming season

photo of Aaron Bartlett Sports Editor
Aaron Bartlett
Mesa Legend

“Since I started coaching golf at Mesa Community College in 2001 we have been extremely competitive at both the regional and national levels, said Coach John Guerrero.”  “The reason for this is recruiting; the recruits I bring in have been very successful in the game of golf,” Guerrero said.  “For a golfer to reach that level, they have to have an extremely-competitive mind and incredible work ethic,” said Guerrero.  Born in Mesa, Ariz, Guerrero attended and played golf from 1990 – 1992 at MCC.  “During this time we had 32 golfers come out to play four rounds of golf and the top eight finishers made the team,” said Guerrero.   “At that time we had nine teams competing for the ACCAC and we always finished third or fifth,”  said Guerrero.  “I feel we had very good talent on our team but never reached full potential because our practices weren’t organized,” said Guerrero.

“For me, my passion for golf started when I was my father’s shadow on the course,” said Guerrero.  “He brought me out for my first 18 hole round at the Dobson Ranch Golf Course and that’s all it took for me to be hooked for life on golf.”  “In 1998 Seton Catholic offered me the head wrestling and boys golf coach positions,”  said Guerrero.  “I knew if I had accepted the positions, I would not be able to pursue my dream of playing professionally at a high level.”  Two years later, the MCC Women’s golf team position opened.  “After looking at the schedule, I thought I could coach the team and still have enough time for my own personal schedule of teaching and playing,” said Guerrero.  “Growing up, my father was my role model; he taught me how to be a leader, how to treat people and how to never give up on dreams,” said Guerrero.  “So to me golf can be broken down to three words; fun, challenging, and discipline,”  said Guerrero.

MCC women’s golf team Jacquelyn Porman (red-left) Sierra Myerscough (red-middle) Charatta Thongbai (red-right) Jill Harvison (blue-left) Brianna Medrano (blue-center) Chelsie Peterson (blue-right) PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN GUERRERO
MCC women’s golf team Jacquelyn Porman (red-left) Sierra Myerscough (red-middle) Charatta Thongbai (red-right) Jill Harvison (blue-left) Brianna Medrano (blue-center) Chelsie Peterson (blue-right)
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN GUERRERO

Growing up in Champaign, Ill, Sierra Myerscough’s passion for golf didn’t start when she was young.  “I actually stayed away from golf because my family is very golf-oriented and I didn’t want any part of it”, said Myerscough.  “When I was younger, I played every sport imaginable except golf,” said Myerscough.  “It wasn’t until two weeks before golf tryouts I figured it would be something fun to do and it turns out it changed my entire life.”  “To me, golf is the only sport that you can just go out on your own for five hours to practice,” said Myerscough.  “There is something so serene about just going to the range or putting green and focusing on a little white ball.”  “To many, this may seem crazy, but who said golfers were normal?” Myerscough asked.

“A word that would describe golf at MCC for me would be: adventurous.” said Myerscough. “When I go to practice or a tournament every day, I know that at the end of the day I am going to smile and laugh,” said Myerscough.  “I think that is what makes this team so special. These ladies have become like sisters that I never had and am very proud to call them my teammates.”  “For about 20 years, my father has been a snowbird and I had heard about MCC. At that time I was looking for a junior college to transfer to and MCC seemed to be the perfect fit for me,” said Myerscough.  “For me, my role models growing up would have to be Hilary Clinton, Sheryl Swoopes and Meryl Streep,” said Myerscough.  “All of these women are incredible role models and made me want to follow my dreams.”

“For me, golf is much different than a normal sport. Golf is an individualized sport, at the end of the day, you can only hold yourself accountable for the mistakes you make on the course,” said Myerscough.  “We compete as a team but at the end of the day, we are the ones responsible for our scores.  Jack Berry MCC golf assistant coach has told me “In order to be successful, you have to forget about the bad shots.”  “From the outside I think that many don’t know that I absolutely love watching documentaries,” said Myerscough.  “My Netflix queue is filled with all different types of documentaries that I have yet to watch.”  “This season has been completely different than last year,” said Myerscough.  “Last season we were just starting to get our footing as a team and this year it is a completely different team,” said Myerscough.  The team is determined to do well at Nationals which is reflected in the scores. Winning is the reason we are here and we hope to continue that until the last day of our season.”

On the other hand Jerod Alleman started playing golf when he was either eight or nine years old.  “I never took it (golf) seriously until my sophomore year of high school,”  said Alleman.  “For me, golf was just another sport I had to get better at because I have always strived to beat my dad in every sport possible, in all this I fell in love with the game.”  Alleman is in his second season playing golf here at MCC,  “As an experienced player I just focus on lightening the mood and making sure everyone has a good time,” said Alleman.  “Playing golf at MCC is one of the best environments possible, everyone has a good time and we get along like a family,” said Alleman.  “With that in mind, I want to win the National Championship and MCC is the best choice for those who have the same goal.”  “Looking at golf I would say that it is one of the more successful teams at MCC, but I don’t like to compare to other teams because at the end of the day the MCC athletic program is one big success story,” Alleman said.  “Our season has been good but not great, we have consistently fallen short to South Mountain but a big win in Alabama gave us a big confidence boost going into regionals.”

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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