When Isabella Goyette and Paige McKendry graduate from Highland High School in May, they will go down as one of the top duos to have ever played together in Northeast Ohio. Their accomplishments speak for themselves. The Hornets won the Suburban League each of the four years that Isabella and Paige played there, they won their Sectional tournament all four years, and they qualified for the State Tournament each one of those seasons, finishing in fourth place twice and fifth place twice. Isabella was the Suburban League Player of the Year twice and finished on the All-Suburban League First Team all four years. Paige was on the First Team three years and the Second Team her freshman year. There are enough awards between the two players to take up an entire database. But having the opportunity to speak with both Isabella Goyette and Paige McKendry, it immediately becomes apparent that their achievements on the golf course come second to how amazing they are as people. Neither of them will ever discuss their awards, honors, and accomplishments, but they will be the first two to speak highly of their coaches, parents, mentors, and teammates. And that is what makes these two players special. Young, up-and-coming players wanting to make an impact on the Ohio golf landscape would do well to model themselves after these two players, because the sport will be better for it.

Paige and Isabella both started playing the game when they were very young. The McKendrys lived right behind the 16th green at Briarwood Golf Course in Broadview Heights and Paige could be found out on the course with her parents from a very early age. She did not take formal golf lessons until she was in fifth grade but was ready to play varsity golf from the moment she stepped on the course for tryouts her freshman year. She just didn’t know it yet. “As a freshman, I was just hoping to find a spot on JV,” Paige remembered. “I had no idea what high school golf was like.” Paige never ended up playing on the JV team because she made the varsity team from the first day.

Isabella was also really nervous for tryouts her freshman year. Her older sister, Alessandra, was already on the team and Isabella was not sure what to expect. She had been taking golf lessons since she was five years old and had been playing at Westfield Country Club with her sister and father her entire life. “I was just trying to take it all in,” she said about her first day of tryouts. “I needed to get introduced to it and needed to figure out what high school golf was like.” She was probably the only one nervous because it was pretty apparent to everyone at Highland that she was going to make an immediate impact. Highland coach Mary Becker was part of everyone in this scenario. “They were involved in our middle school program,” she said. “Both girls stood out there and in getting to know their families, it was apparent that everyone, girls and families, were all in when it came to committing to development.”

It did not take long for either Paige or Isabella to figure out high school golf. They both became immediate factors on one of the top teams in Northeast Ohio. Highland was in the middle of an impressive run where they already had several conference championships and were becoming a mainstay at both the District and State Tournaments. The two jumped right in and never looked back. “The team kept getting better each year,” Paige said. “We had the same roster my first two years, then (after a couple changes) years three and four we had the same players both seasons.”

Isabella mentioned that having many different personalities mixed together on the team really helped them grown. Paige described her teammates as beautiful and unique. “Everyone has things that make us tick,” she added. Players like Kavya Chada, Kendall Sprutte, and Avery Albright brought the Hornets the depth they needed to be dominant. There was one other player that both Paige and Isabella mentioned that really changed the mindset of the team from the time she showed up to tryouts as a freshman two years ago: Elizabeth Coleman. “Elizabeth is so positive,” Isabella proclaimed. “It’s always sunshine and rainbows with her. She helped us overcome issues of pessimism and negativity. Helping people when they are down brings us all up.” Paige described Elizabeth as bringing “light and positivity” to help the whole team mindset. “She has been a leader since her freshman year,” Paige added. The team will fall into Elizabeth’s hands as she enters her junior year along with Avery and Kendall. Other players that will bring depth to Highland’s 2024 squad include Elizabeth Chester, Gabby Witschey, and many other players. One of those is Caroline McKendry, Paige’s younger sister, currently a sophomore. “We’re best friends in life,” Paige said happily.

Isabella was fortunate to have the opportunity to play with her sister for her first two years. Alessandra Goyette had an extremely accomplished career at Highland and was part of the generation that started the current dominant run the Hornets have been on. “I didn’t realize how special it was until she was gone,” Isabella recalled. “We had always been best of friends, and very competitive. When she went to college it was the first time I had to live without her. She was really a wonderful role model in golf and life, mainly just how she handled things.”

Both Isabella and Paige credited their success to many role models and supporters throughout their careers, but the names they both mentioned were Highland head coach Mary Becker and assistant coach Doug Snelling. Both players were in Coach Becker’s physical education class in middle school. Paige described Becker as patient and respectful. “She takes time to get to know each player,” Paige added. “She was always there when I needed her. She is smart and knows what she is talking about. She is a mentor who gives the team the right mindset. She is a wonderful person.” Paige said that the biggest lesson she learned from Coach Becker was that “being on a team isn’t about yourself, it’s how you fit into the team.” The dedication it takes to be on a team and the ability to improve your game are two other lessons Paige took from her coach. Isabella described Coach Becker as “one of the most determined people I’ve ever met. I have so much respect for where she has taken the team.”

Senior year is always emotional, especially for two players who had been together through three straight years of continued success. “It was not too different,” Isabella mentioned. “But it was definitely more special.” She added that it was her last season with her teammates and that she remembers it for a few new tournaments that made the year special. “We went to Oakland Hills in Michigan and that was a really fun experience,” she said, also mentioning the Terlesky Invitational at the Lake Club. Paige realized that every tournament they played in would be the last time they were at that course. “I knew it would be different,” she said. “It would definitely be a little bittersweet, especially being my last time playing competitive golf.”

Paige is planning to attend Bowling Green State University in the fall, and while she will not be playing on the school golf team there she does plan to continue with the game by trying out for the club team. She will be majoring in BGSU’s THEM program, which includes Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management, and minoring in Entrepreneurship. Isabella will be continuing her golf career at Kent State University. “They were the first school and the best school to reach out to me,” she explained. “I really made good connections to their coaching staff and loved their facilities.” She will be majoring in Fashion Merchandising.

Young players can learn a ton about golf from listening to Isabella and Paige explain the game. They both really enjoy the fact that high school golf is an individual sport in a team environment. “I love how golf is different from any other sport,” Isabella explained. “I definitely love the individual aspect as well. It starts with the team aspect but as you go further it becomes more of an individual sport. I like that you can focus on yourself and play your own game, which is mentally challenging, but someone else on your team can also pick you up.” Paige agreed. “There is individuality in golf, it’s very unique,” she said. “I’m not a very competitive person externally, but I am very competitive with my own self. 90 percent of the game is mental and it’s a challenge to overcome that. But as a teammate you have to be there for your team. There are no days off.” Paige mentioned that she struggled with putting coming into her freshman year. “I was a bit of a hot head when I was younger. But I turned that into a positive mindset. I became more patient and willing to forgive myself.” She became the top putter for Highland her sophomore and junior years.

Coach Mary Becker founded the girls golf program at Highland and has been the only coach in the program’s history. She had nothing but praise for her two graduating superstars. “Paige not only loves playing golf, but strives to play the game well,” Coach Becker said. “She has a great understanding of where her strengths are, and plays to them on the course. Whenever she doesn’t perform to her expectations on the course, she works her tail off to make corrections. Whether it is getting extra lessons or extra range and practice green time, she is determined to play the type of golf she knows she can.

Regarding Isabella, Coach Becker stated, “Isabella is an amazing golfer. She now owns a majority of the te Highland High School Girls Golf individual performance records. A couple of great things I will always remember about Isabella are her steady demeanor on the course, and how other players love playing with her. Not just other top players, either. She makes everyone she plays with feel at ease.”

Paige McKendry and Isabella Goyette are both once in a generation players who are ambassadors of the game of golf. We would like to wish them both the best of luck as they continue their academic and athletic careers!