Saint Vincent golfer Brayton keeps game in perspective while juggling multiple tasks

In describing her personality as a high school golfer, Saint Vincent rising junior Lucy Brayton uses the word “maniac.” Her competitive fire burned hot.

Some of it was competition with herself, fueled by a desire to get better each time out. Some of it was directed toward her opponents, and she probably needed a bit of an edge considering she was playing for the Penn Hills boys golf team.

“It does make you a little more confident when you can go out and play with the guys and beat them or give them a run for their money,” Brayton said.

These days, however, Brayton has changed her outlook on golf. Sure, she still wants to win. She takes pride in the fact that she is a two-time All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference honoree (second team as a freshman, honorable mention this past spring).

But a lot of other things are competing for her attention. She has a full-time job. She maintains her own apartment in Latrobe. She is involved in a number of campus activities at Saint Vincent. And she is ramping up for the LSAT exam, with an eye toward law school in the future.

With all that on her plate, Brayton has eased back on the gas pedal when it comes to her “maniac” golf persona. She enjoys simply being outside playing the game she loves. She will put in her ear buds — sometimes even listening to a podcast rather than her favorite music — and hit balls for hours or play a casual round.

“I’m pulled in all these directions, but I wouldn’t change it for a thing,” said Brayton, who earned her high school degree through Achievement House Cyber Charter School. “I think, in general, yes, (my golf game) is improving. Just overall the mentality. I’m enjoying my sport.

“I love playing in the PAC at the Division-III level because I can enjoy so many other avenues (in college). A D-I or a D-II (school) wouldn’t allow me to do that.”

Perhaps a slightly more laid-back approach is why Brayton has continued to excel. Over her first two seasons with the Bearcats, she has finished eighth and 14th at the PAC golf championship, which, like the schedule, is split into fall and spring sessions. In her freshman year, she shot a final-round 79 in the PAC championship to boost herself into second-team status.

Saint Vincent coach Samm Firestone said she still sees a competitive drive in Brayton, but it is her overall skill that makes her a threat in any tournament.

“She’s very in tune with how her body works and how it moves, and she can really play into her strengths,” said Firestone, a three-time first-team All-PAC golfer at Saint Vincent. “And then she really knows how to focus on what might be weak at any given moment.

“She’s been playing golf a lot longer than I did at her age, and her fundamentals are so strong and her swing is so fluid that I’m not shocked when she scores well.”

Firestone said Brayton has the skills to average below 80.

“She has all the capability both physically and mentally to be in the 70s every round,” the coach said. “I expect a lot from her, and I try not to put too much pressure on her and I know she’s hard on herself as well.”

Well, maybe not as much as she used to be.

Just don’t mistake Brayton’s more relaxed attitude for apathy. She still would like to help the Bearcats win a PAC title — “That would be pretty awesome to show off to the campus and have a plaque,” she said — and she hasn’t discounted trying to win the individual title.

But those things aren’t necessarily at the top of her to-do list. She has plenty of other goals and believes she can have the best of all worlds if she maintains the proper perspective.

“Golf is important, but I always tell people: balance,” she said. “You also feel really good when you get an ‘A’.”