Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
The Kimball High Boy's Golf Team with one final pose at the conclusion of the 2016 Class C State Tournament held at the Kearney Country Club Golf Course. Left to right, Andrew McCloud, Zane Anthony, Coach Chad Wise, Izaac Reuter, Dillon Wise, Jordan Greenwood.
It was truly a season to remember for the Kimball High boy's golf team with seven wins, including capturing the championships of both conference tournaments they are involved in, and also a District tournament championship! They shot their low round of the season on their home course in winning the Western Trails Conference and the Kimball Invitational with their round of 316. They shot 319 at Grant and also at Valentine where they won the District title. They won the SPVA Tournament at Hershey with a round of 330, won the season opener at Bayard at 334, won at Scottsbluff with 349, finished runner up at Mitchell with 321, and runner up at Bridgeport with 340. Their highest finish all season came at the state tournament where they finished sixth with two day scores of 332 and 339 for a total of 671. What a season for Coach Chad Wise and the Longhorns, and the good thing is, all five golfers are back, plus others who will battle for the varsity spots come next season.
When we turn to the individual stats on the season, junior Jordan Greenwood stands out. Jordan had his best year yet and this comes after freshman and sophomore seasons where he qualified for state and had medal performances where he finished 11th and ninth respectively. This year Jordan improved even more, winning district with an under par performance, shooting 70, and then came within two strokes of winning his first state title, finishing runner up and shooting 76-75=151 to finish second on the Kearney Country Club Course. He exceeded the team's first place finishes as he was the first place medalist eight times, was second at state, and his worst finish was third place at Mitchell when he shot even par 72! His highest score all season was 78 and his average round was 74.27 in the 11 rounds scored. Jordan was medalist at both conference tournaments and the district tournament. All he can do to improve is win the top spot at state in his senior season. He has already set his goal in that direction.
With Jordan the experienced leader on this year's team, the balance of the team was made up of three freshmen and a pair of sophomores. Freshman Zane Anthony played in the number two spot all season and had eight top ten medalist performances. His best showing was a second place at Grant when he shot 75 to finish one stroke behind Greenwood. He finished third three times, fourth once, fifth once and ninth at District.
Freshman Dillon Wise had nine top ten medal performances with a fifth place at Bayard, then five sixth place finishes, a seventh, ninth, and 10th at District. Dillon was just three places and three strokes out of a top 15 medal showing at the state tournament and had an opening front nine of 33 and was one of only two golfers to shoot under par on the opening day front nine.
Freshman Izaac Reuter had three top ten medal showings, finishing fifth twice and ninth, earned medals in both conference tournaments and an eighth at District.
Sophomore Andrew McCloud medaled in both conference tournaments and won three top ten medals total.
Sophomore Kole Bush also saw some varsity playing time and will be pushing for more varsity time next season.
As mentioned, it was a memorable season for certain and it would lead one to believe it could be even better next season with everyone returning and with more experience and more maturity of this year's younger players. Thanks for the memories, and good luck with your summer golf.
