Creek Valley seniors finish in style

The young and shorthanded Creek Valley Storm golf team finished at the back of the pack at the 2014 Class D NSAA Boys State Golf Championships at Kearney Country Club, yet there were plenty of valuable lessons learned.

Creek Valley's top player, senior Lane Godfrey, gave a lesson in the art of the possible when he medaled, finishing in a tie for 11th. While Godfrey only picked up the game in 9th grade when his scores hovered somewhere in the "one hundred teens," he turned himself into a two-time state qualifier and 2014 medalist. He opened with a 79 on Wednesday and finished with 87 for a two-day total of 166.

Senior Cory Phillips also had a good day, overcoming first round frustrations. After finishing his opener with a 118, Phillips shaved 15 strokes off his round for a second-day total of 103. The two freshmen, Brett Godfrey and Joe Van Winkle, ended the second day at 109 and 123 respectively.

"I was so happy to have those two freshmen with us here," said Storm Head Coach Cyd Hanson. "They've had some great exposure here that will benefit them in the coming years."

Lane Godfrey fought his way through a round that was beset by three double bogies and a triple. He left with a good taste in his mouth, however, as he played the final three holes in even par, notching a birdie on the challenging 17th hole.

"I couldn't get on the greens in regulation all day," said Godfrey. "I just wasn't hitting the ball well at all. There were times when I wanted to pack it in, but I wanted to keep fighting for a medal."

While Godfrey struggled with his ball striking, he turned a pair of iffy shots on the island green 17th into a birdie opportunity. He drove his tee shot to the left rough. Godfrey then pushed his second shot into the second cut on the par-5. But Godfrey was sure with his approach shot and left himself about a 12 foot putt for a 4.

It fell in the center for a birdie.

Though he bogied 18, his even-par finish earned him a medal by a single stroke.

"I really enjoyed playing for Creek Valley," said Godfrey, who will head to Hastings in the fall to play golf and basketball. "Coach Hanson and Terry Osborne have been a big help to me. I'm really going to miss it."

Though sad in leaving Creek Valley, Godfrey is excited about his future in Hastings. On the morning of his second round Hastings Head Golf Coach Lloyd McIntyre texted his best wishes to his future pupil.

Though Phillips struggled on day one with some big numbers - including a 13 on the par-4 6th - he was much steadier on his second trip around the KCC layout. Of the 15 strokes he shaved from his first-round score, seven of them came on the sixth hole.

"I was just hitting the ball better today," said Phillips. "When I did hit bad shots my recovery shots were much better. It was nice to end up on a more positive note."

Phillips ended his high school career on the good side when he parred his final hole with a tap-in putt. He nearly holed his chip shot for birdie.

As for the freshmen, they backed up just slightly from their first rounds. Again the pair played well in spots, but were burned on occasion by big numbers. Five 4s on Brett Godfrey's day-two scorecard were offset by an 11 and 9. His 11 came on the 14th hole.

"I hit my tee shot out of bounds and then I couldn't find my provisional," said Godfrey.

But already Brett Godfrey is looking forward to his sophomore year. While his first love is basketball and intends to take part in several hoop camps this summer, he hopes also to find time to work on his golf game.

"If we have the same sophomores next year I think we can all improve and be pretty good," said Godfrey. "I enjoyed this so it would be nice to come back to state."

Van Winkle expects to be one of the sophomores who returns next season. He also intends to have a sharper golf game. As for his state experience, his appetite was whetted for another trip next year. After struggling with his tee shots on day one, he managed to smooth out that problem on Thursday.

"My drives were really good today, but then a lot of other things went wrong," said Van Winkle. "This was really fun though. It really makes me want to come back. I have a cart at the Chappell course so I'm going to play and practice as much as I can this summer."

Coach Hanson also has a positive outlook for next year despite losing two seniors. Godfrey finished his career by breaking the school record for match wins with three. He also showed the younger kids how one could lower their golf scores dramatically in just a few short years.

"I'm just so proud of Lane and I'm going to miss him," said Hanson. "He handled kind of a lousy day with class. But of course that's Lane. He's always handled himself with class."

Hanson also has to say goodbye to Phillips who came back from such a tough start.

"I'm so glad that he was able to come back from such a bad first day," said Hanson. "He could have just tossed it in but instead he kept working and had a good round for the team."

In the overall picture Thayer Central earned the title of state champion with a two-day total of 666 to ease by runner-up Overton with 679.

The Storm's total of 845 had them in 15th place.

Freshman Trevor Kosch of Humphrey St. Francis birdied the the final two holes to make up a four-stroke deficit on Jay Cottam of Thayer Central. Kosch earned his state championship title after winning the first playoff hole.

Kearney Country Club

Final Team Results

1. Thayer Central 666

2. Overton 679

3. Bancroft-Rosalie 680

4. Fullerton 702

5. Hartington 706

6. Humphrey St. Francis 712

7. Cambridge 721

8. West Holt 735

9. Sutton 753

10. Sandhills/Thetford 770

11. Mullen 776

12. High Plains Community 790

13. Heartland Lutheran 804

14. Hitchcock County 821

15. Creek Valley 845

Individual Medalists

*1. Trevor Kosch, Humphrey SF 74-76-150

2. Jay Cottam, Thayer Central 71-79-150

3. Michael Brockhaus, Humph. SF 76-80-156

4. Auston Darnell, Bancroft-Ros. 82-75-157

5. Benjamen Baden, Thayer Ctl. 83-75-158

6. Caleb Moyerm Cambridge 79-80-159

7. Preston Peters, Bancroft-Ros. 76-84-160

T8. Jacey Nutter, Sandhills/Thet. 82-79-161

T8. Colton Micheel, Crawford 81-80-161

10. Zachary Zeleski, Overton 85-80-165

T11. Lane Godfrey, Creek Valley 79-87-166

T11. Joel Shafer, Overton 82-84-166

T11. Alex Fritz, West Holt 82-84-166

T11. Noah Springer, Cedar Bluffs 81-85-166

T11. Jake Friedrich, North Ctl. 81-85-166

*Won on First Playoff Hole

Creek Valley Scores

Lane Godfrey 79-87-166

Brett Godfrey 106-109-215

Cory Phillips 118-103-221

Joe Van Winkle 120-123-243