Raiders, Storm compete at Kimball Invite

KIMBALL - Both the Sidney Red Raiders junior varsity team and the Creek Valley Storm golf team came home from the Kimball Invite on Thursday with an individual medalist.

Raiders' freshman Tiara Ginther improved her previous best competitive score by 20 strokes to finish in seventh place. Ginther carded a 109 at Four Winds Golf Course. The Four Winds layout is a tree-lined, 5,400-yard par-72 with an abundance of rolling hills.

"I'm really happy to get a personal best," said Ginther. "My driving went very well today and my chipping was better. Even though my chipping improved, I still feel like I need to work more on my shots around the green."

While Storm junior Maddy Johnson was three strokes off her best with a 115, she medaled for the second straight tournament. At the season opener at Chimney Rock Golf Course in Bayard last week, Johnson's 120 earned her a 10th-place medal. She was also 10th at Kimball.

"It was a really good day," Johnson said. "The greens were fast, but I adjusted to them pretty quickly. I was in the fairway all day and that made a big difference."

In the team competition, Gering took top honors with a 416 total. Mitchell (453), Bayard (466) and Sidney (513) rounded out the top four. Creek Valley, Perkins County, Bridgeport and Kimball also competed but did not have enough golfers to compete for a team title.

In addition to Ginther, Bailey Bagnell (131), Tomiyah Mnier (172), Rachel Reiser (149) and Dru Rowan (124) also competed for the Raiders. Though Sidney brought only its JV team to the match, it competed in the varsity division.

"I was pleased with their course management today. When I was watching, they were making good decisions," said Sidney coach Jennifer Dinges.

Creek Valley's Jaden Criswell and Jo Hummermeier finished with a 127 and 140, respectively. While Criswell struggled much of her round, she earned a ninth-place medal last week at Bayard. For Hummermeier, a junior, it was the first match she has played after only recently taking up the game.

"Maddy didn't play very well here last year, so I was happy to see how much better she handled this course," said Storm coach Cyd Hanson. "Jaden struggled a little but you have days like that. Jo had some good hits and looked like she was having fun so that was a good start for her. Now we can all look forward to our tournament."

The Storm Invite is set for Thursday at 9 a.m. at Chappell Golf Course. The Raiders will be at Lake Maloney Golf Course in North Platte on Friday. The shot-gun start is scheduled for 9 a.m. CDT.

KIMBALL INVITE RESULTS

Team Scores

1. Gering 416

2. Mitchell 453

3. Bayard 466

4. Sidney 513

Creek Valley NTS

Perkins Cty. NTS

Bridgeport JV NTS

Kimball JV NTS

Individual Medalists

1. Kenzey Kanno Mitchell 97

2. Jaylen Beam Gering 98

3. D.J. Bokelman Gering 99

3. Allyssa Hoagland Gering 99

5. Myranda Musfelt Mitchell 105

5. Kayla Bruggerman Perkins Cty. 105

7. Tiara Ginther Sidney 107

8. Catherine Applegate Bayard 110

9. Ryanne Blau Bayard 113

10. Maddy Johnson Creek Valley 115