There was no smooth sailing for anybody in Nebraska Boys High School Golf this entire season. Flooding and snow disrupted the beginning of the season, and it was almost fitting that more inclement weather delayed the season finale. All four classes had the opening rounds of their state tournaments cancelled on Tuesday, May 21 with cold temperatures, high winds, heavy rain and potential lightning at all sites. What was supposed to be a two day, 36-hole tournament had to condense to one day and 18 holes.
Play finally took place on Wednesday, May 22 across Nebraska at Norfolk Country Club (Class A), Elks Country Club in Columbus (Class B), Meadowlark Hills Golf Course in Kearney (Class C), and Lake Maloney Golf Club in North Platte (Class D).
Class A
While Norfolk (@norfolk_golf) couldn’t defend its team title this year, senior Luke Kluver (pictured left) triumphed in the individual race to earn the third Class A gold medal of his high school career. The individual race came down to the wire, with Kluver and Lincoln Southwest’s (@lsw_golf) Josh Bartels tied standing on the par-5 18th tee. Kluver was able to play his third shot chip to within 5 feet and sank the putt for birdie. Bartels, on the other hand, ran into trouble and ended with bogey, which dropped him to third place, and gave Creighton Prep’s (@juniorjaysgolf) Jacob Boor the silver medal. Kluver’s winning score was a 74 (+2), and Boor’s runner-up score was a 75 (+3), with Bartels rounding out the top three with a 76 (+4). The individual championship for Kluver came after his state record performance in districts. He carded a 10 under 61 to win the district and set the high school single round scoring record.
The Junior Jays managed to close out a team championship, edging out Lincoln Southwest in a close race. Prep shot a 313 (+25) as a team, which was enough to give them a two-shot victory over the Silverhawks, who shot a 27-over 315. Norfolk clawed their way to a third-place finish, shooting a 322 (+34). Prep’s championship lineup consisted of Jacob Boor, Joshua Kramer, Rex Soulliere, Tanner Muhlecke, and Thomas Slattery.
Individual Top Ten:
1. Luke Kluver, Norfolk, 74 (+2)
2. Jacob Boor, Creighton Prep, 75 (+3)
3. Joshua Bartels, Lincoln Southwest, 76 (+4)
T4. Joshua Kramer, Creighton Prep, 77 (+5)
T4. Isaac Heimes, Norfolk, 77 (+5)
T4. Christopher Rasmussen, Elkhorn South, 77 (+5)
T8. Nolan Vondra, Papillion-LaVista, 78 (+6)
T8. Tanner Rigg, Lincoln Southwest, 78 (+6)
T10. Rex Soulliere, Creighton Prep, 79 (+7)
T10. Rourke Jensen, Lincoln North Star, 79 (+7)
T10. Jacob Hellman, Omaha Westside, 79 (+7)
T10. Grant Jabenis, Omaha Westside, 79 (+7)
Team Top Five:
1. Creighton Prep, 313 (+25)
2. Lincoln Southwest, 315 (+27)
3. Norfolk, 322 (+34)
4. Lincoln Pius X, 333 (+45
T5. Kearney, 334 (+48)
T5. Omaha Westside, 334 (+48)
Class B
Class B saw cold and windy conditions when teams started teeing off on Wednesday morning. The weather made scoring difficult, but Elks Country Club in Columbus yielded the only score under par in any class all day. Sophomore Luke Gutschewski managed to turn in a 1-under-par 71, which was enough for a two-stroke victory over Omaha Skutt Catholic’s (@schsboysgolf) Charles Zielinski, who shot a 1-over 73. This is the second top 10 finish for Gutschewski, who is the son of Elkhorn resident and Web.com Tour player Scott Gutschewski. Last year, he finished tied for ninth after shooting rounds of 80 and 79 in the state tournament. Bryce VunCannon of Columbus Scotus finished third on his home course, shooting a 3-over 75 to finish out his high school career, and Reed Malleck of York (@YorkDukeGolf) finished fourth at 4-over par.
In the team race, only two strokes separated first from second. North Platte (pictured left), new to Class B, won their first team championship in school history for coach Jim Orcutt. Orcutt retired from teaching this year, but will likely be back to coach in the future. North Platte’s winning team featured Jayden Jones, Kasch Morrison, Tanner Ruda, Andrew Phillips, and Finn Lucas, who shot a 38-over 326 team total, which was two better than runner-up Adams Central. York wasn’t able to defend their title this year, finishing eleven strokes behind Adams Central for third place.
Individual Top Ten:
1. Luke Gutschewski, Mount Michael Benedictine, 71 (-1)
2. Charles Zielinski, Omaha Skutt Catholic, 73 (+1)
3. Bryce VunCannon, Columbus Scotus, 75 (+3)
4. Reed Malleck, York, 76 (+4)
5. Jayden Jones, North Platte, 78 (+6)
6. Kasch Morrison, North Platte, 79 (+7)
T7. Nathan Sughroue, Adams Central, 81 (+9)
T7. Nolan Sughroue, Adams Central, 81 (+9)
T7. Marcus Eriksen, Northwest, 81 (+9)
T7. Tyler Welch, Seward, 81 (+9)
Team Top Five:
1. North Platte, 326 (+38)
2. Adams Central, 328 (+40)
3. York, 339 (+51)
4. Omaha Skutt Catholic, 340 (+52)
5. Bishop Neumann, 341 (+53)
Class C
Class C also saw brutal conditions on Tuesday at Meadowlark Hills Golf Course in Kearney, with their first round being the first to get cancelled for weather. When play finally got started on Wednesday, no one in the field was able to touch par, but Preston Carbaugh of Cambridge came the closest to it. His 3-over 74 was good for a state championship. Eli Fox of Grand Island Central Catholic (@golfcrusader) Ian Lundquist of Oakland-Craig, and Riley Kuehn of Hartington Cedar Catholic weren’t able to catch Carbaugh, all tying for second with a trio of 5-over 76’s. Jack Goering of Grand Island Central Catholic and Jake Hagerbaumer of Logan View rounded out the top five, finishing tied for fifth with a pair of 6-over 77’s.
In the team race, Grand Island Central Catholic barely closed out their second consecutive championship, and their fourth in five years. Playing for the Crusaders was Eli Fox, Jack Goering, William Goering, Jayden Palik, and Peyton Kort, and their 40-over 324 was enough for a one-shot victory over Battle Creek, who shot a 325-team total. Oakland-Craig rounded out the top three, but they finished 24 shots behind Battle Creek.
Individual Top Ten:
1. Preston Carbaugh, Cambridge, 74 (+3)
T2. Eli Fox, Grand Island Central Catholic, 76 (+5)
T2. Ian Lundquist, Oakland-Craig, 76 (+5)
T2. Riley Kuehn, Hartington Cedar Catholic, 76 (+5)
T5. Jack Goering, Grand Island Central Catholic, 77 (+6)
T5. Jack Hagerbaumer, Logan View, 77 (+6)
7. Luke Stueve, Battle Creek, 79 (+8)
8. Ty Heimes, Battle Creek, 80 (+9)
T9. Griffin Hendricks, Doniphan-Trumbull, 81 (+10)
T9. Will Elgert, Yutan, 81 (+10)
Team Top Five:
1. Grand Island Central Catholic, 324 (+40)
2. Battle Creek, 325 (+41)
3. Oakland-Craig, 349 (+65)
4. Lincoln Christian, 354 (+70)
5. Johnson County Central, 363 (+79)
Class D
Rounding out the NSAA championships this year was Class D at Lake Maloney Golf Club in North Platte. While the race wasn’t as close as the ones in Class A and B, Jeremy McMillan-Peters of Paxton had a narrow margin of victory, shooting a 3-over 75 for a two-shot victory over the 2018 champion Ryan Weiss of Franklin, who shot 77 (+5). Austin Wenner of West Holt and Chase Ostransky of Fullerton followed Weiss with a tie for third at 9-over 81.
West Holt was able to close out a third consecutive championship, but it was nothing near a blowout. The Huskies’ (+67) 355 was good for a one-shot victory over North Platte St. Patrick’s, who shot a 356. And to round out the top 3, Creighton tied Elm Creek for third with a pair of (+82) 370’s. The Huskies’ lineup was made up of Austin Wenner, Garrison Hansen, Jaxson Cadwallader, Max Roberts, and Jaegher Ogden.
Individual Top Ten:
1. Jeremy McMillan-Peters, 75 (+3)
2. Ryan Weiss, Franklin, 77 (+5)
T3. Austin Wenner, West Holt, 81 (+9)
T3. Chase Ostransky, Fullerton, 81 (+9)
T5. Gage Clifton, Clearwater-Orchard, 82 (+10)
T5. Koby Walker, Mullen, 82 (+10)
T7. Garrison Hansen, West Holt, 83 (+11)
T7. Jacob Lingenfelter, Plainview, 83 (+11)
T9. Jordan McBride, Burwell, 84 (+12)
T9. Teegan Sonneman, North Platte St. Patrick’s, 84 (+12)
Team Top Five:
1. West Holt, 355 (+67)
2. North Platte St. Patrick’s, 356 (+68)
T3. Creighton, 370 (+82)
T3. Elm Creek, 370 (+82)
5. Franklin, 372 (+84)