Editor's note: The following contains excerpts from our 1 Awards story on Ari Acuff.
SPRINGFIELD — Ari Acuff is not only one of the best athletes on the golf course, basketball court or soccer field, but also one of the brightest students in the classroom.
Acuff is an honors student who currently holds a 5.0 weighted GPA – tops among the 2017 KHS class. The Kickapoo three-sport star hopes to parlay that into a career in computer science or chemical engineering, after playing golf at the next level.
With college around the corner, Acuff has multiple Division I schools showing interest: Missouri-Kansas City, Purdue and Missouri State among them.
In her tween years, Acuff lived for basketball. Golf was something she did over the summer in her spare time, with basketball taking top priority.
“I had picked up a club and hit, but I never took it seriously,” Acuff said. “I always played competitive AAU basketball for as long as I could remember. Basketball was always my main sport. I never really thought much about golf. I played golf like once a summer.”
Acuff decided to join Kickapoo’s golf team as a freshman and made the varsity group. She was average at best, averaging tournament scores in the high 90s that year.
Then, over the summer, it all started to click. Playing in area tournaments, she cut 10-to-15 strokes off her average score.
“I was shooting in the 80s and I could already see improvements even though I had barely played,” Acuff said.
Two all-state finishes later, including a runner-up showing last fall, Acuff has established as one the state’s top prep golfers heading into her senior year.
“I’m just trying to fine-tune everything,” Acuff said. “I pretty much have all the mechanics of my swing down and I have really good feel for my swing. Now, it’s just about those little things: Can I get this shot five yards closer to the hole? Or, can I make these putts more consistently? It’s more about scoring now rather than just hitting the ball straight.”
She’s still pretty good at basketball, though. Acuff was the top reserve off the bench for Kickapoo’s state championship basketball team. She’d be a starter and go-to scorer on just about any other team in the area.
Like golf, soccer was something that Acuff picked up at her discretion a few years ago. She joined some friends on a club team just for fun and found her calling card to be at goalkeeper.
A starter for Kickapoo since her freshman year, Acuff would be capable of playing college soccer, too. This past spring, she had 18 shutouts for a 21-win Kickapoo team.
“I’ve always been good with my hands, so I figured playing goalie was something I could do,” Acuff said.
Golf, basketball and soccer all offer something unique to Acuff. With golf, Acuff’s performance is solely based on her.
“It’s more independent than basketball and soccer,” Acuff said. “Yes, you played with a team, but if you had a bad round it was on you. If you were playing bad, you didn’t have teammates to fall back on like with basketball and soccer.”
Through high school, golf has become Acuff’s top sport. One of its perks is the travel aspect.
Acuff’s spent July 11-14 in Hunstville, Ala. playing in an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournament. Before that, she managed to find time to hit the course on a family vacation in Alberta, Canada.
This year, she has already taken first place at the Seymour Golf Invitational and pulled in a runner-up spot in Camdenton. Soon, she’ll again exchange her golf club for basketball shoes, then basketball shoes for soccer cleats.
“It keeps me busy and I love (all three sports),” Acuff said. “I couldn’t just focus on one. I would miss it. I don’t know what I’d do. In winter time, if I didn’t play basketball, I would just get bored. Honestly, it helps out a lot in keeping up with school (work) because I make sure I’m always there. It keeps me focused and helps me keep my grades up.”
