(PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
FAMILY SUPPORT … Proud parents Jon and Kirsten Mignin look on as daughter Kalleigh signs her intent to attend and play golf for Ottawa University Arizona in Surprise, AZ this fall.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (JANUARY 31, 2025) – Spirits were high at Delta High School on Friday, when senior Kalleigh Mignin signed to attend and play golf for the Ottawa University Arizona Spirit team in the fall.
Mignin, who has set records at the high school, had been considering the school alongside other schools in Ohio, Iowa, and Missouri.
“Ultimately, it came down to Iowa and Arizona, because they just had the best program and the best golf system and I ended up choosing Arizona just because it’s a chance to just actually get better at golf and it’s warm down there,” Mignin said. “Who doesn’t want to be in warm weather?”
Mignin has taken inspiration from her family, with a father and grandfather who were both golf coaches, and that inspiration also led her to plans to pursue a degree in psychology.
“My sister is a [physician assistant] and right now she’s a psychiatrist, it’s the job she chose, and I just look up to her a lot, so she kind of inspires me a lot. She interests me,” she said.
Mignin’s father, Jon Mignin, served as the high school’s golf coach for more than a decade, coaching his daughter during her freshman and sophomore years.
“Coaching your own child is very difficult. I was just super happy that somebody else could be her coach and I just got to be her biggest fan,” he said. During the signing, Jon said he felt “awesome.”
“I’m just super excited for her and this wonderful opportunity, not only to get a good education but she wants to continue to golf. I never said anything to her about golfing after high school.”
“This is all on her, this is what she wanted to do, and she put a lot of time and effort into it. I just wish her the very best,” he said.
“She’s a good kid – a hard worker, 4.0 student. She has all the tools for a lot of different things. I’m just very pleased.”
Mignin’s mother, Kirsten, was equally enthusiastic. “I’m emotional, super excited. It was a big choice, a really big choice. Lots of options, so that’s nice,” she said.
“I’m super proud of her. She’s a 4.0, puts extra emphasis on higher-level classes, and set all these school records.”
“She’d always swing as a little girl, but to actually start playing a girl when she was a freshman – she’s come a long way in a short time.”
Current Delta Girls Golf Head Coach Justin Reckner praised both her choices and her skills. “I knew she wanted to golf, and we’d had many conversations about her golfing where it was warm so she could go golfing all the time.”
“So, this was a good choice for her and a great opportunity to use the skills she’s honed herself and have an opportunity to go on to the collegiate level and do what she wants to do,” Reckner said.
“She was a coach herself. She did a lot of the things with the girls that maybe I couldn’t do as far as working on their skills, taking them out on her own, just doing a lot of things that a great leader does, and she was an excellent leader for the two years that I was coaching her.”
Included among Mignin’s accomplishments at Delta were shooting a school record 39 in 2023 and record 80 in 2024 at the NWOAL league championship, where she tied for second overall, becoming a match medalist and 1st Team All-NWOAL, both at White Pines Golf Course.