Wawasee graduate Zach Leedy has chosen Rose-Hulman golf as his destination in furthering his athletic and academic careers. Seated with Leedy are parents Candy and Mike Leedy. In back are Wawasee athletic director Cory Schutz and Wawasee boys golf head coach Steve Coverstone. InkFreeNews photo by Mike Deak

By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE – Zach Leedy has been used to playing under pressure. The now graduated Wawasee senior doesn’t know any other way, and has chosen to stay in that lane in signing with Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to continue his golf and academic careers.

Leedy, who held his signing Wednesday at South Shore Golf Club, leaves the Wawasee golf program after three years of consistently serving as the No. 1 golfer. Taking the position as a freshman, Leedy led the team in the Northern Lakes Conference with a score of 42 at the NLC Championships that was halved to a nine-hole tournament. He would earn Honorable Mention All-NLC honors as a sophomore and junior after rounds of 87 and 85.

In three years of sectional golf under Hall of Fame coach Steve Coverstone, Leedy averaged an 85 in his appearances. Leedy and the Warriors did not have a spring competition season in 2020.

Leedy has also furthered his golf game in the Lifestyle Junior Golf Tour, making several appearances over the years including four this summer, where he has finished in the top two of his age group in each appearance.

As a tennis player in the fall for the Warriors, he was voted Singles Player of the Year as a junior, and the team captain as a senior won the Warrior Way Award on his way to Academic All-State accolades. Leedy also took to ice hockey, where he played in South Bend with a club team and spent most of his non-high school athletic free time on the ice at The Ice Box.

“I’ve played golf and hockey almost my entire life and it just came down to doing what was best for my future,” Leedy said overlooking his Wawasee home golf course. “Job market and getting an education, I felt like Rose-Hulman definitely was the best for that. Both educationally and with the golf team, I can get better at my game and get better as a person.”

Leedy remarked that the spring shutdown became a minor blessing in disguise. While finishing ranked No. 3 in his graduating class is impressive, Rose-Hulman is another level of educational focus. Intending to stay mentally sharp knowing his classwork requirements are going to ramp up, Leedy picked up a smart pastime.

“I’ve kept on top of things by reading,” Leedy shared. “I’ve found a nice sense of purpose in reading. Throughout high school, I was given reading assignments and wasn’t super keen on them. But lately I’ve picked up a few books and even read a lot in educating myself on golf. I’ve done a lot of what exercises, what kind of shape I need to be in, how to time manage. Not necessarily with numbers, but just how to be more successful and getting my priorities straight.”

The Fightin’ Engineers competed in four tournaments this past fall and spring, finishing as high as third at the Dan Quayle Collegiate Classic. Coached by Jon Lester, Leedy joins a truly international team that includes a player from Shanghai, China, as well as guys from Texas and Pennsylvania.

Leedy, who accumulated an 11.97 GPA on a 12-scale, was involved in student council, DECA, KYLA and Supermileage while at Wawasee. He looks to major in mechanical engineering and concentrate in aerospace.

“My goal is to work in aerospace manufacturing. Maybe get into a company like GE, Rolls Royce, Boeing,” Leedy stated. “It could lead to a career in the auto industry. There are so many options you can choose within the field, and the technology is certainly only going to improve over time. I follow Space X. I love to read up on companies like that.”