State Class C Runner-up goes to Minden
by Coach Exstrom
October 21, 2008
You know it’s time for the Class C state golf tournament when the weather turns cold, windy, and rainy. That’s exactly what greeted the Whippets on day one of the state golf tournament at Indianhead Golf Course in Grand Island. The weather tried to put a damper on the tournament but the Whippet five would have none of it. On a day that saw Kearney Catholic play its way back to the field, the Minden girls put together a 396 placing third overall. Kearney Catholic, shooting a 387, was still leading the tourney by seven strokes over Crofton’s 396.
Individually, Minden was paced by Allie Exstrom. Allie, coming off of a disappointing district tournament, shot 90 for the day. Morgan Kristensen fired a 97 followed by Laynee Woodward with a 101, Heather Anderson with a 108 and Kylea Shelton carded a 109.
Coach Exstrom commented, “I’m pleased that we’re right in the middle of this golf tournament. With Kearney Catholic playing sub-par golf, that opened the door for everyone else in the field. Crofton is 2 strokes ahead of us at this time with Columbus Scotus 2 strokes behind us. GICC is 7 strokes back of us with a 401. I’m happy that Allie played well. She needs to come in with that great leadoff score for us and she did her jog shooting a 90. Morgan is playing at a 97 clip and Laynee could have been under 100 with a little better back nine. The tournament will boil down to the 4th score. That’s where we have been giving up strokes to Kearney Catholic all year. If we shoot what we’re capable of tomorrow we will bring home some hardware!”
Class C State (day 2) Indianhead GC Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008
Day two of the Class C state golf tournament looked very promising for the weather and the results. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate one bit as a steady rain greeted the day 2 golfers. The rainfall and cool temperatures did nothing to the determination of the Whippet golfers. Minden leapfrogged Crofton to capture the runner-up trophy. Kearney Catholic won the Class C title shooting 753 for the 36-hole tournament 36 strokes better than Minden at 789. Crofton was a close third with a 791 followed by Columbus Scotus at 799.
Allie Exstom became the first individual medalist since Lauren Gokie placed 15th in the 2006 tournament. Allie’s two day total of 182 was good enough for 10th place overall in a field of 97 players. Morgan Kristensen played very well both days and carded 191 and 18th place overall. Laynee Woodward played two steady rounds on her way to a 204 score and 29th place. Heather Anderson carded a 212 and garnered 42nd place. Kylea Shelton shot 217 and placed 48th overall. All 5 Minden players ended up in the top 50% of the field which helped them capture the runner-up title.
“I am extremely proud of these girls, commented head coach Steve Exstrom. They really took on a competitive field and the weather and fought their way to the runner-up trophy. Their determination was evident as each one of them spent several minutes in front of the scoreboard analyzing the numbers trying to determine what the “magic number” would be. It came down to the number one players from Minden, Columbus Scotus and Croton in determining who the number two team would be. Allie had to beat Jacy Gasper from Scotus by 5 strokes on the final nine holes and Molly Zavadil from Croton could not beat Allie by more than 7 stokes. Gasper ended up shooting a 50 compared to Allie’s 42 and Zavadil shot a 38 giving us a two stroke advantage and 2nd place! It was really tense coming down the stretch and these girls had to play in rain all day! Morgan played fantastic both days and Laynee was very steady both days as well. Heather and Kylea both improved on their first day scores doing it in very bad conditions. This was really a team win in the sense that everyone had to score on day two to overcome the 2-stroke deficit to Croton and at the same time maintain a gap on Columbus Scotus and GICC. This will be a tournament that I will remember for a long time and I’m sure the girls will remember forever!”
Season Summary
2008
McCook Invitational 398 1st
Broken Bow Tri. 206 1st
GICC Invitational 376 2nd
MindenTri. 204 1st
LexingtonInvitational 377 1st
AuroraInvitational 383 1st
Gothenburg Invitational 384 2nd
MindenInvitational 398 1st
MindenTri. 195 1st
Holdrege Invitational 392 1st
KearneyTri. 200 2nd
SWC 374 1st
C-4 Districts 419 2nd
Class C State Tourney 786 2nd
