The Blair boys golf team closed out its home schedule Monday with a hard-fought quadrangular at River Wilds Golf Club.
Bears coach Ross Udey called the team-race “real competitive” as Bennington, Elkhorn, Fremont and his lineup all played within 10 strokes of one another. The Badgers earned the victory, finishing with 166 strokes over nine holes, while Elkhorn notched 168 and Fremont carded 172 swings.
BHS, meanwhile, shot a 176 despite playing without one of its varsity stalwarts — Easton Chaffee. Senior Jake Stirek led the five-man varsity team, shooting a 41 on holes 1-9 at River Wilds. He shot par on five holes, including the par-5 No. 6.
The Bears' Cole Truhlsen, meanwhile, finished with a 43. The senior started on No. 9, sinking his second putt for par to start strong.
Adam Grote, meanwhile, carded 44 strokes, while Cole Wilkins took 48. Ben Hagedorn added a 53, too.
Overall, Fremont's Tyler Snow and Elkhorn's Ben Hastrieter shot the afternoon's low score. Both carded 39s after nine holes.
In junior varsity competition, BHS finished third with 226 swings. The Bears' Nicky Rothlisberger led the way with a 53, while Connor Wayman shot a 55. Landen Oppliger took 57 swings, and Rylan Blattert and Gavin Ulrich added 61 and 62, respectively.
Bears play Crooked Creek
The golf team's final week before district competition continued Tuesday at Crooked Creek Golf Club east of Lincoln. The Bears finished 10th with 379 strokes.
Chaffee finished with a team-best 85 strokes over 18 holes, while Wilkins shot a 95 and Stirek finished with 96. Hagedorn added 103 and Luke Ladwig shot a 114, earning his varsity letter in the process.
Udey said Blair's first six holes were good during the Waverly Invite, but that the team struggled after that.
The Bears were scheduled to play Thursday in Wahoo before Monday's Class B-2 District Tournament in Wayne. The first group starts play at 9 a.m.
BHS last had a golfer qualify for the boys' state tourney in 2017 when Brandt Radloff, a current Creighton Bluejay, earned second for the second-straight year.
