Plainsmen golfers take 15 spot at state

After canceling day one of the competition due to inclement weather, the Plainsmen golf team played 18 holes on day two of state at Meadowlark Golf Course in Kearney on Wednesday, May 22.

Following an injury to his right hand, PC was down a player, Aaron Fay, and had junior Matthew Aerni to compete in his place. 

Coach Kemling said it was a tough journey just getting to state, “Our difficulties began days before the meet, with Aaron breaking his hand after districts.  He was extremely disappointed with himself and the consequence of not being able to play his final high school round at the state tournament. It was even more heartbreaking in that he had the game to compete for an individual medal. Aaron ended up attending and supporting his teammates. Fortunately, I did have an alternate golfer available and Matthew was able to gain some valuable experience.”

Kemling explained that their practice round was played in cold, rainy weather and they were thankful for day one being cancelled, but the weather did also impact day two. 

“The day was still difficult due to the wet conditions, especially in the rough, and the winds which were strong enough to influence putts.  Staying out of trouble (long rough) became the goal of the round,” Kemling said, and added,  “Some of our golfers did better than others in achieving this goal but everyone ended up in the long grass at some point during their round. 

“Jacob was able to manage the course well enough to earn an 11th place medal.  He displayed good ball striking but overall struggled with getting putts on line. There were times where he was visible and audibly frustrated but was able to regroup and keep it together.  The final five holes were essential to him rising on the leaderboard as he played those in two over par.”

Woodmancy shot an 82, with 41 on the first nine and 41 on the second, enough to place him 11th individually. 

“Carson used his experience at the state meet to get off to a solid start.  He opened with two pars and two bogies in the first four holes. On the fifth tee, he re-aggravated a lingering back injury and was not the same after that. Carson had an adventurous round, where he negotiated the long rough multiple times and even found his ball lodged in a tree.  Getting the back healed completely for next year will be a priority,” Kemling said. 

Thelander finished with a score of 96 (47-49).

Kaden Smith, Detrik Brueggeman and Aerni completed their first state golf competition and Kemling said they were able to gain valuable experience through their participation. 

Smith shot a 107 for the day, after 53 on the front nine, and 54 on the back. 

Brueggeman shot 61 and 63 to finish with a total of 124.

Aerni shot a 142, with 78 on the front and 64 on the second half. 

“Playing in front of large groups of people can be nerve-racking.  Even though they were nervous, I thought they did a good job of maintaining their same pre-shot routine and giving themselves the best chance each shot. Playing at the state tournament should help motivate everyone to make it a goal to return next year.  That will only come with work on their game during the summer.”

Team scoring: 1. Grand Island Central Catholic, 324; 2. Battle Creek, 325; 3. Oakland-Craig, .49; 4. Lincoln Christian, 354; 5. Johnson County Central, 363; 6. Kearney Catholic, 367; 7. Kimball, 368; 8. David City, 372; 9. BRLD, 375; 10. Hartington Cedar Catholic, 376; 11. Lincoln Lutheran, 377; 12. Yutan, 378; 13. Doniphan Trumbull, 384; 14. Valentine, 401; 15. Perkins County, 409. 

Individual scoring: 1. Preston Carbaugh, Cambridge, 74; T2. Eli Fox, Grand Island Catholic, 76; T2. Ian Lundquist, Oakland-Craig,76; T2. Riley Kuehn, Hartington Cedar, 76; T5. Jack Goering, Grand Island Central Catholic, 77; T5. Jake Hagerbaumer, Logan View, 77; 7.Luke Stueve, Battle Creek, 79; 8. Ty Heimes, Battle Creek, 80; T9. Griffin Hendricks, Doniphan, 81; T9. Will Elgert, Yutan, 81; T11. Caydon McCracken, Battle Creek, 82; T11. Jacob Woodmancy, Perkins County, 82.