News

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 Southeast Community College, where he leads the golf team.

“They’re super proud of me,” Delaloye said. “My dad and grandpa really got me into this sport and my family is very supportive of my golf career and my college career.”

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

“It sort of felt like home away from home based on the school size and how everything is close together,” Delaloye said. “It’s a bit different coming from a small town to a little bigger town, but everyone here is super nice and welcoming.”

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

“We kind of surprised ourselves,” Delaloye said. “We ended up finishing top-10 at nationals, which was honestly mind-blowing, seeing that we shouldn’t have even made it and our district is probably the hardest district in our division.”

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’s 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.

“Here, you’re known by your name,” Delaloye said. “You’re 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’s sort of hard to make that 50-50, but the teachers here help you one-on-one to get caught up.”

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

“My grandfather passed away this last December, so unfortunately he won’t be there,” said Delaloye. “But, I’ll be playing for him, just like I have been this entire spring season.”

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