Photo Provided Wheeling resident Ellie West, holds her trophy after winning the W.Va. Junior Match Play Championship at the Parkersburg Country Club.

WHEELING – A Wheeling youth is starting to make a name for herself at the tender age of 14.

Ellie West, an 8th-grader at Bridge Street Middle School, recently won the W.Va. Junior Match Play Championship at the Parkersburg Country Club. She defeated Williamstown’s Madilyn Buttrey 1-up in the finals.

West was seeded third out of the eight participants. She defeated South Charleston’s Jadyn Snodgrass 8&7 in the first round and topped No. 7 McKenzie Armstrong, of Belmont, W.Va., 1-up in the semifinals. Buttrey was the No. 5 seed.

“It was some really good competition. Honestly, I didn’t see what happened coming,” West admitted. “I knew I had a chance to win it. Sunday was definitely a tougher day out of the three.

“The match came down to the 18th hole. We were all pretty evenly matched, so it was very nerve-wracking,” she continued. “The entire weekend was crazy. It was great … exciting.”

West said she has been golfing for seven years, half of her lifetime.

“This is definitely the highlight of my career so far,” she said. “This was one of the biggest tournaments that I’ve played in.”

Up next is the JA Golf Invitational at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pa. this weekend, which is an Arnold Palmer course.

“I want to finish in the top 5,” she added. “I think I can reach my goals there.”

Next on the agenda is a trip to North Carolina at the world famous Pinehurst Resort for the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation World Championships from July 30-Aug. 1.

“That’s a big goal of mine. I want to start getting my name out there,” West noted.

What has been the key for her success at a young age?

“I really try to manifest that I am going to do good. Practice is a real key, as well but practice doesn’t make perfect. It helps you improve your game on the golf course, but golf is a mental sport. One bad shot can be hard to swallow at times, but you’ve just got to put it behind you. You have to have a short memory to be a good golfer.”

West has bigger goals down the road.

“I think the LPGA is in my future,” she said. “I believe if I keep following the path that I am on, I think I have a bright future ahead of me.”

She would like to thank her coach, Rich Conwell, and her parents, Eric and Sunny West, for all their support along the way. Conwell is currently the pro at the Parkersburg Country Club and formerly served as head coach of the Wheeling University men’s and women’s programs.

“They’ve been pushing me to be the best I can be all my life. I would not be where I am today if not for those three people in my life.”