Preseason Scramble | Crofton Invite | Ainsworth Quad | Ewing Invite | Plainview Invite | O'Neill Invite | Neligh Invite

West Holt Quadrangular | West Holt Invite | Valentine Invite | Highway 20 Invite | NENAC Tourney | C-3 District | Class C State

photo courtesy of KBRX
West Holt Boys Golf Gets Underway
by Coach Hale

Last Wednesday the team competed at the Preseason Old Rangeland 3-Man Scramble. The format is 18 holes of scramble golf. Each golfer hits a tee shot, then the team chooses the best shot and then each hit the second shot from that location until the hole is completed. Each school enters three teams. It is a good format to get the season started. For the beginners, it is a way to get rid of the jitters that come with competition. The veterans usually get their course management skills going and start building a sense of teamwork.
Overall, it was a good outing in terms of scoring. The team of Adam Flannery (Sr), Brett Lieswald (Sr) and Nick Meusch (So) placed second by scoring a 68 behind the Valentine #1 team of Adam Dredge, Scott Murphy and Jeff Wrage that scored a 63. The West Holt #2 team was comprised of Joseph Olson (Jr), Zeb Elm (So) and Caden Johnson (So) while West Holt #3 was Justin Judge (Fr), Jessie Poessnecker (Fr) and Matt Sturdivant (Fr). The other team scores were O’Neill #1 (69), Ainsworth #1 & #3 (73), Rock County #1 (74), O’Neill #2 (75), Valentine #2 (76), West Holt #2 (79), Ainsworth #2 & Rock County #3 (81), Valentine #3 (83), West Holt #3 & Rock County #2 (84), O’Neill #3 (91). Overall team scoring was Valentine 222, Ainsworth 227, West Holt 231, O’Neill 235 and Rock County 239.
The West Holt varsity was to compete at the Crofton Invitational Saturday, March 29th but it was postponed to Saturday, April 5th due to weather. Coach David Gibbens and I are looking forward to working with this year’s team. We’ve got a good mix of veteran’s and rookies. The guys have been practicing with purpose and that usually leads to improvement. Come see the team when we host the West Holt Invitational on Saturday, April 26. top

WH Golfers Open Season at Crofton
By Coach Hale

The season officially took off Saturday for the West Holt golf team when they traveled to Crofton to test their game in very windy conditions. If you are going to a very successful golfer in Nebraska, you’d better learn to play in the wind and we found out we’ve got some work to do there. On a day like Saturday, the casual golfer would have probably chosen not to play, but if you want to be competitive around here you better learn to play in those conditions.
The gusts were conquered the best by Ponca’s Justin Blatchford who earned a 4th place medal at last year’s state tournament. Teammate Garrett Peterson took the silver and Ponca looks poised to duplicate or better their runner-up finish they had at state last year.
Joseph Olson had the best day for the Huskies by posting a 43-47-90 to get into a 5-man playoff for the 10th place medal. Brett Lieswald got stronger as the day went on to post 47-45-92. Fellow senior Adam Flannery finished 47-52-99 while sophomores Zeb Elm and Nick Meusch penciled in 101 and 108 respectively. The guys are getting used to some new roles on the team and some are figuring out what it means to be a golfer. We can take this experience and improve. We weren’t that far from the two teams in our district, Crofton & Lutheran High Northeast. top

Husky Golfers are Second in Quadrangular
by Coach Hale

The Husky golf team made up a postponed dual with Rock County by being invited to play in a postponed triangular between Rock County, Ainsworth and Valentine. To make a long story short, we ended up participating in a quadrangular hosted by Ainsworth Monday. Such is spring in Nebraska.
The Huskies performed better, overall than what they did at Crofton on Saturday. The guys were more familiar with the course, so they made some better decisions. The JV players also got their first taste of competition for the year. We were able to identify some things we are doing well and maybe more importantly, some things that need improvement. Like I said in the Crofton article, it’s about learning if you are a golfer or someone who plays golf.
Adam Dredge of Valentine posted the best score of 39. Adam shot 69 on day 2 of the class B state tournament last year, so he’s a pretty solid player. Matt Hollopeter of Ainsworth followed his championship on Friday at the Ord Invite with a 42 to take second. Then, after that, there were 9 scores of 44 to 46. Scoring on the West Holt varsity were Nick Meusch and Joseph Olson 44, Brett Lieswald 45, Adam Flannery 46 and Zeb Elm 49. Justin Judge had the low West Holt JV score of 51 while Caden Johnson shot 58, Matt Sturdivant 75 and Jessie Poessnecker 83. Now that the JV’s have competed, they have something on which to build.
Weather-willing the varsity will participate Wednesday in the Ewing Invite then at the Pirate Invite at Plainview on Saturday. top

Huskies Improve at Ewing
by Coach Hale

Summerland Golf Course has been known for good scoring in recent years and the boys drew a decent day to golf this year. It was no surprise that Ewing Senior Craig Flenniken shot a 4 under par 68 to win. He should be headed toward a successful year to follow up his 2nd place finish at last year’s state tournament. Flenniken led his team to a tie for 2nd with Verdigre while Norfolk Catholic’s Cord Schueth posted a 75 for second and led the Knights to 1st place. Norfolk Catholic was the lone team from our district there and should be strong contenders to go to state.
For the 5th place Huskies, Brett Lieswald rolled in 3 birdies on the front nine to make the turn at even par 36. He added another birdie on the back, but tree trouble led to a couple double bogies on the 4th and 5th holes. He had an encouraging day, as did the rest of the team. Adam Flannery overcame being 7 over par on the first 4 holes to post his best score thus far for the season. He was only 6 over on the next 14 holes. Nick Meusch found some consistency. He posted just one double bogie. Joseph Olson kept the ball in play off the tee to lead the team in fairways hit with eleven. He posted his best score of the year. Joining Nick and Joseph as first time Tiger Invite participants was Zeb Elm. Zeb also shot his best round so far. If he would have had a better day on the greens, he would have joined Nick and Joseph in the 80’s club.
This was an encouraging result for the guys. I see them identifying strengths and weaknesses and learning how to score with what they got on that day. We have room to improve, especially in the areas of consistent ball-striking, short-game and course management. Hopefully, the weather will turn around so we can work on those things. The varsity will travel to O’Neill on Thursday, then make up the Pirate Invite at Plainview on Saturday. To round out the week, the Warrior Invite at Neligh will be Monday. top

WH Golfer Earns Third Medal in a Row
by Coach Hale

Consistency separates athletes. Brett Lieswald did a good job of patching together a good round Saturday at the Plainview Invite although he might have only had the “B” game going. His 82 was good enough for a tie for 8th and he should feel good about that, but golfers know when they left some strokes out there. That medal gave Brett three in a row after also placing in a tie for 8th at the O’Neill Invite by shooting 81 and a 77 at Ewing place him third. Brett has taken over the role of playing #1 for the team and is settling into playing against the other teams’ best players.
Sophomore Nick Meusch has put together a couple solid tournaments and is showing signs of consistency. Nick missed medaling at O’Neill by a stroke and at Plainview by two strokes. Adam is still looking for that form that earned him a medal at last year’s district tournament. Glimpses of it are showing up, like the first round at Plainview where he shot 42. Joseph Olson and Zeb Elm are learning some lessons on their first tour of the varsity circuit. Freshman, Justin Judge filled in for Zeb at Plainview due to illness and broke 100, which was good after getting a 6 o’clock wake up call to grab his clubs.
I know the guys would like to break out of the middle of the pack, especially with the West Holt Invite coming up this Saturday. In order to do this, they all need to be more consistent. If they choose to eliminate some distractions and get to work, it could happen. top

West Holt Golfers at Neligh
by Coach Hale

The West Holt golf team traveled to the Antelope CC for another 18 holes of golf. The windy conditions separated the golfers that could strike the ball solidly and manage the course. For the Huskies, Brett Lieswald did those things the best. He was able to card a 40 on the back nine after a front nine score of 44. All the Huskies were able to get going better on the back nine. As a team we were 17 strokes better on the back than the front. If we develop that consistency I was talking about last week, we would have pulled ahead of Pope John for third.
In other matters, Creighton continues to roll. Their victory at Neligh propelled them to a victory at the Hartington Invite the next day. They won there with a very impressive score of 301. Pope John improved the next day to win their Conference Tournament held in Atkinson and shot 320. Both those teams will be in the field at the West Holt Invite.
The West Holt guys are good enough to move up out of the middle of the pack. Nick Meusch again just missed earning a medal by 2 strokes. Adam, Joseph and Zeb are putting some good holes together, but need to do some damage control when they get into trouble. We’ll just keep working on getting better each day. top

Quadrangular Scoring
Date 4/24/2008

Varsity
Chambers Ewing O'Neill West Holt
Levi Dexter 49 Craig Flenniken 40 Brady Torpin 40 Brett Lieswald 39
Jed Dankert 58 Brett Kaczor 43 Stewart Havranek 45 Adam Flannery 50
Riley Sicheneder 57 Luke Schilousky 42 Blake Bauer 43 Nick Meusch 45
Trefer Waller 61 Austin Kaczor 41 BJ Barelmann 42 Brett Prothman 45
Tyler Dexter 53 Philip Thramer 41 Grant Litz 39 Zeb Elm 44
Team 217 164 164 173
Score

JV
Chambers Ewing O'Neill West Holt
Zach DeVries 52 Chase Funk 52 Ian Lueninghoener 51 Joseph Olson 49
Dominic Thoeudel 68 Levi Napier 56 Tony Hipke 55 Justin Judge 51
Micki Dexter 67 Collin Phelps 59 Braden Bassegio 48 Matt Sturdivant 71
Montana Libolt 81 Troy Thramer 52 Cameron Deane 57 Jessie Poessnecker 68
Katy Gottsch 57 Sarah Schilousky 66 Matt Ethington 64
Team 244 219 211 239
top

Husky Golfers 4th at West Holt Invite
by Coach Hale

After postponing and moving the time once or twice, the West Holt Invite went off without a hitch. For the West Holt boys, it was a tale of two halves. After the first round the varsity was sitting in 8th place after shooting a 181. That might have been the poorest we’ve played, but then the kids turned it around completely to shoot a season best 158 on the back to move up to a tie for fourth. I really give the kids credit for not giving up. They had their heads down early but they kept grinding and discovered what they are capable of doing. I’ve forgotten what the individual scores were on the front nine, but the back nine had Brett Lieswald leading the way with a 37, Zeb had a season low 40 as did Adam Flannery. Brett Prothman and Nick Meusch rounded out the back nine in great shape with 41’s. Adam had the most consistent day to earn a medal with 40-40-80. He avoided double bogies for the first time and realized the rewards.
In the JV division, Justin Judge led the way with a first nine 44 while Joseph Olson put in a 49 on the front. Both Matt Sturdivant and Jessie Poessnecker came back better on their back nine. Matt improved by six strokes and Jessie by eleven.
Brady Torpin took home gold for O’Neill to lead his team to a Runner-up finish. Creighton had a great performance again to win the team title by a comfortable margin. Their big 3 took 2nd,3rd and 4th place. Adam Maly of Verdigre won a 3-way playoff to take home the final medal. Because of the postponement, we were down a couple teams. Ewing and Niobrara both had graduation so had to cancel.

Team Scoring
1 Creighton 318
2 O’Neill 326
3 Plainview 337
4 West Holt 339
4 Verdigre 339
6 Pope John 342
7 Ainsworth 349
8 Orchard 356
9 Neligh 357
10 Rock County 362
11 Creighton JV 371
12 Stuart 403
13 West Holt JV 462

Individual Scoring
1 Brady Torpin ON 74
2 Ethan Pospisil Cre 77
3 Jared Jensen Cre 78
4 Clay Wintz Cre 79
5 Adam Flannery WH 80
6 Nate Wragge PLV 80
7 Derek Camp RC 82
8 Josh Kounovsky PLV 82
9 Curtis Childers PJ 82
10 Cole Sokol Ver 83
11 Brett Korth PLV 83
12 Blake Bauer ON 83
13 Grant Litz ON 83
14 Scott Dwyer OR 83
15 Adam Maly Ver 84
19 Brett Lieswald WH 85
26 Nick Meusch WH 86
34 Zeb Elm WH 88
37 Brett Prothman WH 89
top

Third Place for Golfers at Highway 20 Shootout
by Coach Hale

Finally, a day that you dream about for golf. The boys were treated to 70 degrees and calm on Monday when they played at Bassett in the Highway 20 Invite. The scores were consistent with the weather as most of the teams had their best scores of the year. The Huskies continued their good play after the good finish on Saturday at the West Holt Invite. After the first nine the Huskies were tied for second with O’Neill at 164 with Verdigre leading at 161. the Huskies trimmed the back nine to 159 but Verdigre put the hammer down to shoot 156 and put away the title. The Eagles also accelerated with a 155 to finish second.
Brett Lieswald again led the Huskies with a fine effort. His 37-39-76 was a personal best. Zeb and Adam continued to play good golf for the team and finish tied for the 10th place medal at 82 with Cole Sokol of Verdigre. Zeb stuck with Cole to the second playoff hole before a bogie ended his bid. It was a good experience for them to feel the pressure and know how to deal with it next time. Brett Prothman also had a solid day for the cause to shoot 83. Brett seemed to be coming back from shoulder injury pretty well. Nick Meusch rounded out the varsity scoring with a back nine 42 for an 87 total.
The JV team again played, but this time was limited to 9 holes. There were 5 JV medals up for grabs and Justin Judge made a bid for the last one with a 47 score. He also got to experience a playoff to take home the medal but bogie also bit him. Again, an experience that a lot of Freshman don’t get a chance to have. Joseph Olson went around in 51, Matt Sturdivant had an up and down 62 while Jessie Poessnecker put in a 71. Those guys got to see the course and that will pay off in the future.
The team will round out the season Thursday at Plainview for the NENAC tournament. Post-season begins at the Norfolk Country Club on Monday, May 12.

Team Scoring
1 Verdigre 317
2 O’Neill 319
3 West Holt 323
4 Orchard 337
5 Niobrara 355
6 Pope John 356
7 Rock County 361
8 Stuart 380
9 Burwell 391

Individual Scoring
1 Cody Barta Ver 75
2 Brady Torpin ON 75
3 Dillon Barta Ver 76
4 Brett Lieswald WH 76
5 Justin Kemp NIO 76
6 Scott Dwyer OR 77
7 Blake Bauer ON 77
8 Curtis Childers PJ 78
9 Grant Litz ON 80
10 Cole Sokol Ver 82
11 Zeb Elm WH 82
12 Adam Flannery WH 82
13 Brett Prothman WH 83
21 Nick Meusch WH 87
top

West Holt Senior Brett Lieswald shot 79 and won a playoff with Cord Schueth of Norfolk Catholic for medalist honors at the C-3 district tournament at the Norfolk Country Club.

Brett Lieswald Takes Home District Championship
Nick Meusch Joins List of State Qualifiers
by Coach Todd Hale

Brett Lieswald handled the windy conditions and bested a very good golfer on his home course to claim the C-3 District Individual Championship Monday at the Norfolk Country Club. Brett is the third West Holt golfer in a row to bring home the gold. Nick Hamik (2006) and Jon Wolf (2007) also lay claim to the title. Joining Brett as a state qualifier for the Huskies was Nick Meusch. Nick made a quick club change on Sunday after having his clubs stolen Saturday night. As any golfer knows, it usually takes more than a few hours to get used to a new set. Brett and Nick will be competing Tuesday, May 20 and Wednesday, May 21 at the State Tournament held at Kearney Country Club.
The team made a good run at qualifying for state. After the first nine, the Huskies (176) were in 4th behind Ponca (169), Norfolk Catholic (171) & Creighton(170). The wind was gusting to 40 mph and the team that hung in there and threw away the least amount of shots was going to qualify. The Huskies put together a good 166 on the back nine but Hartington CC shot lights out while Ponca and Norfolk Catholic held on. The top three teams qualify.
The Huskies made a good run. They were only two strokes from Conference Champs Creighton and defeated Crofton who they tied for Conference Runners-up. Seniors Adam Flannery and Brett Prothman shot 92 & 93 respectively. The team will miss their presence next year. Sophomore Zeb Elm shot a back nine 43 for a 92 total. Zeb gained valuable experience this year and showed steady improvement. We’re looking forward to seeing all the underclassmen improve over the summer and give it a run again next year. District Information and State tee assignments can be found at http://www.nsaahome.org/bgolf.html

Team Results

Norfolk Catholic, 336
Ponca, 340
Hartington Cedar Catholic, 345
Creighton, 346
West Holt, 348
Plainview, 354
Crofton, 356
Lutheran High Northeast, 361
Stanton, 374
Wakefield, 384
Battle Creek, 394
Laurel-Concord, 404
Randolph, 410
Madison, 444
Elkhorn Valley, 446

Individual Results

1. Brett Lieswald, West Holt 79
2. Cord Schueth, Norfolk Catholic 79
3. Justin Blatchford, Ponca 80
4. Keaton Knake, Norfolk Catholic 81
5. Garrett Peterson, Ponca 81
6. Nicholas Lauer, Hartington Cedar Catholic 82
7. Heath Erwin, Laurel-Concord 82
8. Clay Wintz, Creighton 84
9. Christian Nohr, Crofton 84
10. Adam McManigal, Creighton 85
Tie. David Smith, Ponca 85
Tie. Nick Meusch, West Holt 85
Tie. Brett Korth, Plainview 85
Tie. Caleb Svoboda, Lutheran High Northeast 85