Walker walks away as champion of the South Loup
ARNOLD - The annual South Loup Golf Invite was held in Arnold at the Arnold Country Club on April 9. Finishing in first place overall was Brendon Walker of Mullen with a score of 82 and finishing second as a team was South Loup with a final score of 410.
Walker shot a 42 on the front nine but was able to lower his score to a 40 on the back nine. He needed those two strokes he shaved off to win, with second place golfer Luke Martinez of Sutherland right on his tale with an 83.
The other two golfers for the Broncos were Ethan Hardin and Kyle Finney. Hardin ended up shooting a 104 and Finney shot a 130.
Leading the charge for the Bobcat boys to their second-place finish was Colbi Smith with an 85. That was good enough for him to get third place.
“Colbi is a great golfer,” South Loup Coach Jared Rush said. “He is really consistent. Wind and bad weather doesn’t seem to bother him. He is learning how to deal with a bad shot and really doesn’t let it bother him. Had a couple of bad holes but was really pretty solid all day. He is fun to watch.”
Finishing second for South Loup was freshman Dawson Dogget who shot a 102. Also shooting under 110 was Eli Taylor with a 106.
Rounding out the team score for the Bobcats were Grant Hrupek and Jessie Connell. Hrupek carded a 117 and Connell finished with a score of 124.
“I thought for the conditions, the kids did great,” Rush said. “They didn’t complain about the cold temps or the wind. I guess they are getting used to the wind. We battled all day and there were really some good scores considering the weather.”
Finishing third as a team was Anselmo-Merna with a score of 411. The Coyotes had two golfers reach the podium and a third that was very close.
“I thought that the boys did really well considering the elements,” A-M Coach Jason Trautman said. “One day we will have a nice day to golf. I’m really proud of the boys for placing third overall.
They were happy, but they were not content. The success that they are having this early in the season is leaving them very hungry for more.”
In his first meet of the season, senior Carson Leibhart led his squad with a seventh-place finish with a 97. Right behind him was Aaron Bartak who shot a 98 for eighth place.
“Carson did a great job to start off his senior season,” Trautman said. “He has very high expectations for himself and the team; that thought process is being shared across the team. Friendly inter-team competition is what pushes these boys to want to consistently get better.”
Three strokes back of a medal for A-M was Colin Cooksley. He shot a 53 on the front nine and a 48 on the back nine, for a final score of 101.
Brett Downing of Sandhills-Thedford took home his second medal of the season in fourth place with a 91. According to S-T Coach Mick Hartwig, the wind definitely played into his score.
“Overall, I thought Brett played well,” Hartwig said. “He had one bad hole where he made eight on a par four that was a crosswind hole and had a couple of other miscues. All of his errors were due to the wind and his decisions on playing the shot. We will work on that in practice and hopefully, those errors won’t show up again. Brett is very solid and steady so he wasn’t happy with his score but fourth place is still a good day and it’s difficult to win golf tournaments in high school, college, or on the PGA tour.”
Only playing the front nine for the Knights was Preston Moschenross. He ended up carding a 69.
“Preston has played in two golf meets in his high school career and both of them have been in really bad, high wind conditions,” Hartwig said. “The first meet was a bit rough ..... nerves, new course, and big wind! He worked hard in practice the next week and improved his score by 13 strokes so that’s a great improvement! He has the potential to take more strokes off if he stays patient and continues to put in the time practicing.”
The Mullen golf team competed at the Bridgeport Invite on April 14 and both the S-T and South Loup golf teams compete at the Hershey Invite on April 15.