Across a four-year span of high school golf, Mya Niehues played at such a dominating level that she now stands in rarefied air. By the time she plucked her final golf ball from the 18th hole cup at Turkey Creek, she had etched her name into the annals of CJSHS as one of the greatest golfers, boy or girl, in school history.
A few stats from her phenomenal career: she set the school record for the lowest 18-hole score - a 66 - and she did that twice, which broke the previous record of 70 held by Cassie Lowell. She played in 40 tournaments, including sub-state and state, and won 11 of them. In those 40 competitions - many of which included 5A and 6A golfers - Mya had 33 top-ten finishes. She finished third at the Concordia Invitational her freshman year, and then won it the next three years in a row. And when she was just 14 years old, Mya shot a hole-in-one on the 13th hole at the golf course in Hesston.
Mya was a state medalist all four years of her high school career, finishing eighth as a freshman, tenth as a sophomore, and then second as a junior and second again as a senior. The dream this year was a state championship, and Mya was in first place at the end of the first round. But a tough second round dropped her back in the pack.
"I felt pretty good both days," Mya said. "I was proud of how my driver was at state; it's been a problem all year, but at state it was great. It was my putter that went to trash."
Even though Mya struggled with shots, she kept fighting and finished the state tournament with a par, birdie, and eagle on the final three holes to secure second place for a second consecutive year. "That was the first eagle I ever shot in high school competition, and it was almost an albatross. I hit the shot about 170 yards, and it rolled within a few feet of the cup," she said.
Spend a few minutes with Mya, and you quickly see why this young lady achieved a remarkable level of success. Her engaging personality and quick smile mask a mental toughness and work ethic that elevated her game beyond the norm. She is a compassionate human being who cares about others - even her opponents. But she also played the game with a competitive fire that allowed her to contend with, and often beat, some of the best high school girl golfers that the state of Kansas had to offer.
Through all the triumphs and tribulations, the gold medal rounds and the difficult rounds, Mya always fought the good fight. "Sometimes everything's going great, and then there's just some days when you can't believe you took up the game in the first place," she said with a rueful smile. "I mean, I've gone out and shot an even par round, and then went out and shot nine over par."
Almost any golfer will tell you they have a love/hate relationship with the game. Some days are a thing of beauty: the swing is perfect, the drives are dead-on, the putts are magical. And then there are the days when golf can be one of the most frustrating sports to play at any level, from high school amateurs to the pros on the PGA and LPGA tour.
Talking about the challenges of the game is something you have to coax out of Mya. With her positive attitude, almost all of her first thoughts are about the good times in her high school golf career. "Honestly, I had a blast. I had a lot of fun for four years. I played for Rundus (head coach Gene Rundus), so how could you not have fun? One time, when I shanked a shot, he threw a Twix candy bar at me. He was always throwing candy at us. Another time - and I probably shouldn't say this - we were playing music so loud in the bus that we blew out the speakers. They never sounded right after that. We blamed it on the wrestling boys."
Mya started swinging a golf club at a young age. "I was just one or two years old when I started playing golf. But I didn't really take it seriously until the seventh grade. I started to play Central Links, a golf tour around Kansas. But, honestly, I didn't really think I was that good until my junior year."
"She started playing when she was so young, tagging along with her dad or Cassie (Lowell) all the time," said Mya's mother, Sara Niehues. "Her first tournament, she wasn't even old enough to play. But there was only one other girl who showed up. Instead of having that girl play with the boys, Jim looked at Mya and asked if she wanted to play. She said yes, and Jim told her to go get her clubs."
Mya has played on a lot of golf courses in her 18 years. "There's been a lot of great courses, but for a high school tournament, I really liked Sand Creek Station in Newton. That's a really nice course."
The best shot she ever made? "I don't know if it was the best shot, but it was pretty cool. I hit a shot into the sand trap, and the ball was stuck in the wall, like, really stuck deep into the side of the sand trap. I was about 20 yards from the cup. I closed my club face and swung at it as hard as I could. It landed about a foot from the cup and almost rolled in! I don't think I could make that shot again no matter how many times I tried."
All those memories, all those achievements, came about because of a singular truth: Mya Niehues worked harder than anyone. All golfers have good days and bad days, but when Mya stepped on a golf course, one thing was certain: she wasn't going to lose because another golfer had outworked her. "I'm proud of how hard I worked at it, how hard I tried. I gave it everything I had," she said.
"Mya is the kindest, sweetest girl; approachable, friends with everyone," said her former coach Gene Rundus. "The way she carries herself; such an aura of positivity. But it's her work ethic that will always stand out to me. On a scale of 1-10, she's an 11. I remember in the spring when we'd get home from a boys tournament and it was almost dark, and there was Mya on the green practicing her putts. There was no offseason for her. She put in more work than anyone I know."
"Her work ethic and passion to play this game is like something I've never seen," said Sara Niehues. "She puts in so much work. She's out there grinding almost every day... (she had) a not-so-great tournament performance at Salina, but instead of going to grab dinner or ice cream and wallow in her bad round, she wanted me to drive her home so she could get back to the course before dark. She wanted to put in the work."
That competitive fire, that mental toughness, was a hallmark of Mya's career. "She was very driven, always wanted to do her best," Rundus said. "At the same time, she was an amazing team player. We all knew she was good; she knew she was good, but she never let it go to her head. She had a lot of respect for the girls coming up. She's a four-year state medalist, which is just incredible. But she always put the team first. Mya always tried to give her best on the golf course for her team and her coaches."
Rundus further added that, even when she was having a bad day, Mya was a fighter. "So much of golf is played between the ears," he said. "You know, some days we golf, and then there are some days when we're not sure what's going on. But Mya always fought hard, even through the bad days. Things didn't go the way she wanted at state this year, so she's still hungry, and she'll carry that hunger on to her college career. I'm excited for her as she takes her next step and goes to Kearney."
Mya will continue her golfing career at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. "They have one of the best D2 (Division 2) golf programs in the country," Mya said. "I really liked the campus. And I like the town. It reminded me of Manhattan."
This will be the first time Mya has lived away from home, but she is eager for the challenge. "I'm really looking forward to it. I'm excited to be on my own, but really, it's not like I'm moving across the country. I'll only be a couple of hours from home. And it's the first time I'll have an 18-hole home course to play on. With a driving range, too! That's a big deal to me. Now, when I shank a ball, I don't have to go get it."
When Mya looks to the future, she has dreams and aspirations that are grounded in the realities of playing a sport she loves. "I want to go to PGA School after I finish college. I'd like to be a golf pro or assistant pro at a course, like Cassie Lowell. Golf is a business; that's why I'm getting my degree in business administration."
Mya will miss high school and the friends she's made over the years. "It's been great, and I will miss a lot of people. A lot of the girls I competed against, too. You're usually out on the course for eight hours, and there's a lot of waiting, so you talk, you get to know a lot of the girls. A lot of them are my friends."
Mya wanted to thank her family, coaches, teachers, and friends for all their support over the years. "My parents and my grandparents, too. They only missed a few tournaments my whole career. Rundus was great to play for, and Jeremy and Shawn Woolsey. And I also want to thank the Kuekers for letting me play their course all the time."
Best of luck in the next chapter of your life, Mya. And thanks for the memories.
