Athlete Spotlight: Delaney Howson

Carly Besser
Staff writer

Ryan Richardson/The News

Golf has officially teed off this season at Murray State. Being a diverse group in talent, Racer athletes hail from as close as Paducah, Ky., to as far as other countries around the world. Delaney Howson, a sophomore from Newmarket, Ontario, is golfing for her second season at Murray State.
Howson left the 2010-11 season with an impressive seventh place overall finish at the OVC championships with rounds of 75-79-73. She also placed fourth at the Northern Illinois University Snowbird Intercollegiate and the Arkansas State University Red Wolves Classic last season. Additionally, she was OVC Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-OVC first team, leaving a lasting impression.
Howson got her start in golf when she was 13.
“My brothers got me started with golf,” she said. “A golf course was right across from us and they got memberships, so I got dragged along.”
Originally just a pastime for Howson, golf didn’t become competitive for her until she was 15.
“I started going into competitions,” she said. “That’s when I realized it was getting pretty serious.”
Prior to joining the golf team at Murray State, Howson participated in other sports.
“Before coming here, I played ice hockey,” she said. “I liked it. It was really fun. I also did a bit of figure skating,”
She prepares herself for competition by listening to her iPod on shuffle, Howson said.
“I listen to pretty much everything,” she said. “It gives me a little motivation.”
Although the transition from high school to collegiate golf has been smooth, Howson said the changes were noticable.
“College golfing is so different because it’s more of a team sport instead of an individual sport,” she said. “Your coaches talk to you a lot more in college golf. They were never allowed to talk to me back when I was in regular tournaments. It’s much more serious and it’s a completely different tournament style.”
With homesickness and the overall adjustment of being so far away, Howson said school can be difficult sometimes.
“It gets rough not being able to see your family and friends for four months at a time,” she said. “I really miss my parents and my dog. Not seeing my dog is probably the toughest thing.”
Though it can be rough living in a different country, Howson said that she enjoys being a student-athlete at Murray State.
“I’ve met a lot of great people here in Murray,” she said. “It gives you a lot of opportunities, especially for me as an athlete. I have a lot of fun here.”
Howson and the team’s next competition is Monday and Tuesday at the Austin Peay Intercollegiate in Hopkinsville, Ky.
Contact Besser.

Scroll to Top