Most dominant team in school history wins gold

Looking back at the 2020 season for the Broken Bow girls golf team it seems as if the word dominant is even an understatement for how good this team was. The Indians finished the year by winning every meet they competed in including state except one.

“It was a tremendous year for us from start to finish,” Cooksley said. “It could be considered one of the most dominant seasons in any sport in the history of Broken Bow athletics. Our only loss on the season was at the Lexington Invite to the Class A and B Champions.”

The teams that Cooksley was referring to were Scottsbluff who won Class B and North Platte who was the champion in Class A.

Besides winning the Class C state title by 46 strokes this group also set a new school record for a nine-hole and 18-hole team score. This team knew coming into the season they could be dominant and that is exactly what they were from the beginning to the end.

“I think one of the most memorable parts about this team is how close they were,” Cooksley said. “Our motto all year was “Whatever It Takes” and they took it and ran with it. Golf is a tough sport because only five can golf varsity at a time. Everyone on the team bought into doing what’s best for the team and put ego and personal ambitions aside to do that.”

The team could not have got to the level they did without the senior group they had this season. Madison Jackson, Graycee Oeltjen, Avery Campbell, Erin Zulkoski, and Taylar Coleman were all great leaders on and off the course.

“Seeing how much our seniors got better and grew as young women was personally a highlight for me,” Cooksley said. “I asked them if they thought as freshmen, they would be winning a state championship and each one of them said a resounding NO, so it’s awesome to see how much they improved as people and players.”

This state title represented the first one brought back to Broken Bow in a girl’s sport since 2003. That is when the Indians beat Norfolk Catholic for the C1 state title in girls’ basketball.

“This championship was huge for Broken Bow Public Schools,” Cooksley said. “It’s been pretty dry around here state championship wise. It will push other teams in our school to try and get to this point and just increase the positive culture in our school that we have right now.”