At Whiskey Park bar, the crack of a break shot cuts through the afternoon noise as Megan Englehart lines up her next move. Her nails have pool ball designs. Her T-shirt reads "Pool Peanut." Even the blue cube she uses to chalk her cue is shaped like a peanut.

"Peanut I got as a child. It was a childhood nickname, and once I got a little bit older, the guy that really helped elevate my game and introduce me into the league, he started calling me Peanut as well," Englehart said. "So it kind of just stuck throughout my life, and with the Crohn's disease, I'm naturally kind of small, so it's just all kind of fitting into one."

Englehart, 32, was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel condition, in her early 20s. She also experiences occasional seizures, the cause remains undetermined by doctors at the moment. Neither has stopped her march toward competing in the 2027 USA Pool League National Championships in Las Vegas — a big milestone for a player who picked up a cue stick less than three years ago. Her Crohn's disease plays a small part in a big game.

"On a daily basis, having Crohn's disease, there's a lot of parts with Crohn's. You kind of have to watch what you eat because that can upset your body as well. A lot of muscle pains," Englehart said. "So sometimes when I'm shooting pool, just bending over, you know, to get down on my shot, it will hurt my body. I have to rest a little bit more. It makes me extra tired, and these are things that you can't necessarily see."

Still, the pain doesn't get to dictate her score, she said.

"I believe that I've been pretty good about putting that aside and having my mental game be strong enough to where I can kind of push through the game," Englehart said.

Englehart practices regularly at Whiskey Park in Naples and has competed at venues across Southwest Florida. Along the way, she has built a growing merchandise business under the Pool Peanut name, which she runs alongside a full-time job. She has also become an advocate for women in a sport she describes as male-dominated.

"I think being a female, there has been on and off of the table a little bit of harassment, underestimated. The sport hasn't been extremely welcoming towards females, and I'm here to change that," Englehart said.

She's put in the work to prove it.

"I have been training on that every single day just to improve. So a lot of the mechanics can be elevated, but I believe my mental game is right where it needs to be," Englehart said. "So it's just getting to where I want to be skill-wise."

Ask her what fuels the climb toward Las Vegas and Englehart doesn't hesitate.

"I have a drive in me. I don't quit. I don't quit under the circumstances," she said. "I put the Crohn's and the seizures aside. It's something that I'm so incredibly passionate about. It keeps me up at night because I'm thinking about how can I elevate my game, how can I make an impact, how can I make this sport better. It's the first and last thing I think about when I wake up and go to sleep."

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.