Adversity came Mallory Stirek's way Monday during the Blair senior's 16th hole of the Class B-2 District Tournament at River Wilds Golf Club.
Cruising toward a fourth-straight NSAA State Championships qualification, the Bear lost two balls in the creek that cuts the par-4 hole in half.
“First time it went in, I was like, 'Fine. No biggie,'” Stirek said. “Second time it goes in, I was like, 'Oh God, Mallory. You've got state on the line. You can't mess this up again.'”
The senior didn't. She turned it around on her next hole, placing her tee shot on the green.
“I saved myself with two pars on (holes) 17 and 18,'” Stirek explained.
The Bear finished with 85 strokes across 18 holes Monday, earning fifth and qualifying for her fourth state tourney. She joined her team to the Class B competition in 2019 and 2020 before earning her own way the past two years.
“That's very, very rare,” BHS coach Ross Udey said of the 4-for-4 prep career of his top golfer. “I'm really proud of her.”
The championship tournament starts next Monday at Monument Shadows Golf Course in Gering. It continues Tuesday and concludes after 36 holes.
“I felt prepared going into districts,” Stirek said. “And, yeah, last week was a definite, good confidence booster to help me out today, too.”
The Blair standout finished third at the Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament on Sept. 26 before winning the Oakland-Craig Invite last Saturday. The momentum continued at districts and built on her near hole-in-one on No. 4.
“I had it about an inch and a half away from the cup,” Stirek said, detailing one of her three birdies at River Wilds on Monday.
“That was exciting,” she added. “It got my spirits up, too. Helped me get through the front-nine.”
The Bear finished with 42 strokes at the mid-point of her round and added 43 on the back nine holes — even with two balls ending up in a creek. The overall end result was her fourth-straight state qualification, a feat Stirek didn't see coming.
“It's something to be proud of, for sure,” she said.
Bears finish 6th as a team
Overall, Stirek's BHS team finished its fall season with a sixth-place B-2 District finish.
Coach Udey's Bears closed 18 holes with 426 strokes, while first-place Omaha Duchesne notched 334. Elkhorn North and Bennington tallied 346 and 369 swings, respectively, earning the final two team berths to the Class B state tourney in Gering.
The Elkhorn North Wolves' Julia Karmazin took individual honors, shooting a 74 — two strokes better than second-place Isabelle Gutschewski of Duchesne.
In addition to Stirek's 85, Blair senior Lillian Tiedgen shot a 111. She wrote down 61 swings over Nos. 10-18 before carding just 50 on the front nine.
Carrie Truhlsen and Mackenzie Storjohann, meanwhile, finished with 115 swings apiece for the Bears. Senior Addie Stirek closed her career with 121, too.
