Lewis signs on to play college golf at NSU

Guthrie’s McCandren Lewis made it official Monday morning by signing her name to play college golf at Northeastern State University.

The senior golfer held a ceremony inside the Guthrie High School Library a few days after National Signing Day. Lewis had her fair share of Division I options out-of-state, but wanted to stay in state.

“When I first visited there (NSU) it felt like home. It’s the right place for me to grow as an athlete, as a Christian and every aspect in life I am going to grow there,” a smiling Lewis said as fellow classmates dug into the green and white NSU cake.

Lewis had her sights set on Oklahoma State University and still does much like one of Lewis’ role models Candy Griffin.

“She played at Oklahoma State and when we first moved here, my parents met her at the bakery (Missy’s) and since then she has been a huge inspiration to me. Of course I wanted to go play there (OSU), but this is the right place for me,” Lewis explained.

The NSU program, a Division II school,  is currently ranked 7th in the nation and works out on Cherry Springs and Cherokee Hills.

Lewis credited her parents (Brad and Mickael) along with Guthrie head coach Mike Longstreth.

“Funny story is that my mom doesn’t even play golf and she knows more about than me at times,” a laughing Lewis said.

Lewis was instrumental in helping the Lady Jays golf program back to the state tournament in 2009 after missing out for several years. Lewis won the 5A regional in 2009 en route to a fifth place individual finish and in 2010 finish sixth overall.