Two-time Iowa girl’s golf state champion Samantha Knight of West Monona has made an early commitment to continue her career at Morningside.

One of the premier high school golfers in the state of Iowa has made an early commitment to attend Morningside College and compete for the Mustangs’ women’s golf team.

Mustang women’s golf head coach Todd Sapp announced that Samantha Knight of Onawa, Iowa, will enroll at Morningside for the 2017-18 academic year.

Knight, a two-time Iowa prep state champion, will be a senior at West Monona High School during the upcoming school year. Knight became West Monona’s first-ever individual golf state champion when she captured Iowa’s Class 2A title as a sophomore in 2014 and added a second state title when she won the Class 1A championship this past season.

“Knight has proven to be able to compete successfully at the highest level,” Sapp said. “She is such a powerful player and will be a great addition in 2017 She will make an immediate impact to an already talented group of golfers.”

Knight, who took up the game of golf the summer following her eighth grade year, was an instant success as a freshman at West Monona. She had a nine-hole scoring average of 42.7 with a low round of 38, finished third with an 85 at her regional tournament at Willow Vale Golf Club in Mapleton, Iowa, and finished ninth at Iowa’s Class 2A state tournament with rounds of 81 and 87 for a 168 at American Legion Memorial Golf Course in Marshalltown.

She was the individual medalist at all 13 of West Monona’s competitions during her 2015 sophomore campaign. Knight shot rounds of 79 and 82, carding the low score in the field each day, to win the individual championship at Iowa’s Class 2A State Tournament held at Ames Golf and Country Club. Knight won the state crown by an eight-stroke margin over runner-up Rachel Grenko of Hinton, who she had defeated by two strokes to win her 2A regional tournament with a 77 at Hinton’s Deer Run Golf Course. Knight had a nine-hole scoring average of 41.2 with a low round of 36 in West Monona’s dual tournaments.

Knight elevated her game to an even greater level in her 2016 junior campaign when she won Iowa’s Class 1A individual state championship with a 146 at Jester Park Golf Course in Granger, Iowa, for the lowest winning 1A total in Iowa state tournament history. She topped the previous record of 147 by Christi Athas of Eldora-New Providence when she won the final two of her three consecutive 1A state titles in 2002 and 2003. Knight carded a two-over par 73 in each round to lead the field both days and win the state title by a five-stroke margin over runner-up Emma Pry of New London. Knight was a runaway winner at her Class 1A regional tournament at Crestwood Hills Golf Course in Anita, where she fired a 76 to win individual medalist honors by a nine-stroke cushion over her teammate Allyson Rose. Knight had a nine-hole scoring average of 39.4 in West Monona’s dual tourneys.

Knight will join a Morningside women’s golf team that enjoyed a highly successful 2015-16 season. The Mustangs won six tournament championships and was as the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) runner-up en route to their first-ever appearance in the NAIA Women’s Golf National Championship. Morningside moved up four spots in the GPAC standings following a sixth place league finish in 2014-15.