One week after falling behind Elkhorn and Bennington on the Eastern Midlands Conference Tournament leaderboard, the Blair golf team had to beat out the Antlers, Badgers and Omaha Skutt for their district meet's final berth into the Class B State Golf Championships.
Coach Ross Udey's battle-tested Bears did just that Monday at River Wilds Golf Club, earning third behind Elkhorn North and Omaha Duchesne, and qualifying for their second-straight state tournament appearance.
“We just pulled through,” BHS senior Kaia Stewart said.
It was her scorecard that encouraged Udey the most at the midway point, though every Bears' tally had him believing his girls were rising to the occasion. Stewart, though, was on pace to shoot her lowest score of the fall and did.
“The best I've done all season,” she confirmed.
Blair finished with 408 strokes overall. Its total was 11 better than Skutt, 16 better than Bennington and 42 better than Elkhorn.
“I'm excited and I'm proud of the girls for how well they did this season,” BHS senior Rachel Parks said.”I'm glad they get to come with me.”
She shot the Bears' low score, finishing seventh overall with 95 swings. She shot a 46 on her first nine holes and a 49 on her last nine, earning her second trip to state after tying for 19th in 2019.
“I was really close last year to placing and I want to be even closer, if not place, this year — my last year,” Parks said. “That would be good.”
Stewart, meanwhile, carded 102 strokes over 18 holes on Monday. She credited practice time for her best score of the season in the biggest moment.
“I just was out here practicing every day, as much as I could, because I knew that I could do a lot better than I was doing this season,” the senior said. “I think a lot of the other girls were out here doing that, too. We really wanted to go to state this year.”
After shooting a 103 Monday, BHS sophomore Mallory Stirek is now 2-for-2 in state berths, though she didn't know that would be the case for sure until the scores all shook out.
“I was little concerned on the last hole when I took an eight,” she said.
Anna Moore, meanwhile, made a mid-district adjustment and helped lower her team's score for the day.
“My driver sucks right now,” she said. “So, I used my driver on the front nine (holes). Then, on the back nine, I switched to my 4-hybrid and it started finally working. I wish I would have done that all throughout.”
In the end, the junior finished with 108 strokes.
“I would have felt way better with less than a 108, but I'm still happy with it,” Moore said.
The Bears' fifth qualifier, Addie Stirek, is the only golfer who'll be making her state debut Monday and Tuesday at the Monument Shadows Golf Course in Gering. She shot a 124 at River Wilds to get there.
“I'm excited,” the sophomore said. “I'm not sure how it's going to go for me, but I'm hoping that it'll be fun and a new experience.”
Parks, Stewart, Mallory Stirek and Moore, however, know what its like to compete for Class B medals. Their experience helped them finish third in the B-2 District against tough competition, and it could very well help when they compete alongside the state's best in Gering.
