Madill’s top golfer will be swinging in Shawnee next season.
On Thursday, senior Sarah Codner signed her letter of intent to attend Oklahoma Baptist University. Codner chose OBU over East Central and Central Oklahoma.
“When I visited, I liked the campus a lot,” she said. “Everyone was nice and very likeable. With the Christian atmosphere, it was amazing how comfortable I was there.”
The 2009 All-Ardmoreite selection was one of two golfers for Madill’s girls team last season, qualifying for state as an individual. This year, the Wildcats will expand to an expected five-player roster, which has Codner excited for a season in which the Wildcats can qualify as a team.
Oklahoma Baptist competes in fall and spring seasons. In the fall campaign, the Bison won the Southwestern Fall Invitational in Winfield, Kan., and had top eight finishes in each of their four tournaments. OBU qualified for the NAIA national tournament each year from 2005-07.
Codner is the first signee in OBU’s 2010-11 freshman class. She is the daughter of Mark and Sherry Codner and the sister of Jordan Paige Codner, a freshman at Madill.
“Her mother and I are just besides ourselves,” Mark said. “For Sarah to do as well as she has setting goals ... she’s hit every one of them.”
Sarah Codner hasn’t quite established goals for her first season at OBU just yet, citing she’s focusing on high school. The senior has a direct plan of attack for her final season with Madill.
“I’ve set my goals a lot higher this year,” she said. “Winning a couple more tournaments, winning conference, regionals and top five at state.”
It will be tough for her to duplicate last year’s success. As a junior, Codner won three tournaments, was the Lake Country Conference runner-up, and placed fifth and 13th respectively at regionals and state in Class 4A. She also has a 4.1 GPA and will be on both academic and athletic scholarships at OBU.
Her prowess in the classroom was just another plus for OBU coach Rick Cody.
“She’s really committed to becoming a better player,” Cody said. “She’s got a lot of up potential because she hasn’t really started to develop as a golfer. She will when she gets to college.
“Most of all, I like her enthusiasm. She wants to do well. When she gets here, she’ll work.”
Erik K. Horne
221-6522
