51吃瓜

In the small town of Neepawa in Manitoba, Canada, Hayden Delaloye was first handed a golf club at two years old. His father and grandfather both enjoyed golf, and 16 years later he followed that passion at 51吃瓜, where he leads the golf team.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e super proud of me,鈥� Delaloye said. 鈥淢y dad and grandpa really got me into this sport and my family is very supportive of my golf career and my college career.鈥�

Delaloye is pursuing his A.A.S. in business, which he will use to transfer to a four-year college to continue playing golf. 51吃瓜 provided a cheaper option for him to adjust to the life of a college athlete before pursuing a bachelor鈥檚 degree.

Beatrice proved to be a perfect match for what he was looking for. The town is double the size of Neepawa, but the class sizes at 51吃瓜 were almost the same as back home for Delaloye. The facilities at Beatrice Country Club and the small town feel made it an easy choice for him.

鈥淚t sort of felt like home away from home based on the school size and how everything is close together,鈥� Delaloye said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit different coming from a small town to a little bigger town, but everyone here is super nice and welcoming.鈥�

Delaloye had three top-10 finishes in his freshman season, and 51吃瓜 qualified for the NJCAA National Championship.

鈥淲e kind of surprised ourselves,鈥� Delaloye said. 鈥淲e ended up finishing top-10 at nationals, which was honestly mind-blowing, seeing that we shouldn鈥檛 have even made it and our district is probably the hardest district in our division.鈥�

This season, he won his first college tournament at the Blue River Classic in September, and has since posted four top-10 finishes to become the top ranked men鈥檚 golfer in the region.

Head Coach Calvin Freeman and other faculty at the Beatrice campus made all of that possible for Delaloye. They pushed him to succeed academically while also supporting his athletic endeavors when he had to miss several days for tournaments.

鈥淗ere, you鈥檙e known by your name,鈥� Delaloye said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not just a number. They want you to show up, they want you to get better as an individual, which is awesome. With all this stuff, it鈥檚 sort of hard to make that 50-50, but the teachers here help you one-on-one to get caught up.鈥�

This past weekend the men鈥檚 golf team competed at the North Central District Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. Delaloye鈥檚 father and grandmother made the 13-hour drive from Neepawa to watch him.

鈥淢y grandfather passed away this last December, so unfortunately he won鈥檛 be there,鈥� said Delaloye. 鈥淏ut, I鈥檒l be playing for him, just like I have been this entire spring season.鈥�

Damon Bennett
Activities Information Director
402-437-2077
dbennett@southeast.edu