By Con Marshall
Ally Malzahn Benzel was the first female golfer inducted into the Chadron State College Athletic Hall of Fame.
A native of Sidney, where she still lives, Ally had a program-best season stroke average of 82.5 in 2007-08 while she was playing for the Eagles. It remained the CSC record for 11 years. That season, she won two tournaments and set what were the Eagles’ best 18-hole and 36-hole scores.
In addition, she was one of six selections to All-Century Team when the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference was celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2009.
Ally came to Chadron State as Rural Health Opportunities Program student. After three years at CSC, she went to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha to become a physical therapist, the profession she practices in her hometown.
She and her husband, Matt, a native of Alliance, have three children—Addy, Jack and Noah. Several friends and relatives attended the induction program, including Ally’s parents, Monte and Sarah Malzahn, and Matt’s parents, Steve and Lorie Benzel.