Sidney golfers claim Gering Invite

GERING – With three holes to go in the Gering Invite at Monument Shadows Golf Course on Tuesday, Sidney High's Rachel Blauert was in a tight battle for the individual gold medal.

And while the Lady Raiders didn't know it at the time, the competition for the team title was also coming down to the final holes.

With Blauert's birdie-par-par finish, she not only secured the individual crown with a career-best 77, but she also helped put the Raiders in a powerful position to earn the team championship.

The rest would be up to her teammates.

With Taylor Parsons adding a career best 102 to the Raiders' total and Megan Neal (89) equaling her competitive best, the job was nearly done. Though 2015 Western Conference individual champion Emma Alexander was three strokes off her best, her 85 was good enough to secure a fifth-place medal in the large field. Neal's total earned her seventh place.

When the scores were finalized, Sidney had posted a 353 to earn a comforable seven-point margin over runner-up Scottsbluff (360). McCook scored 371 for third with Gering (406) and Ogallala (418) rounding out the top five.

The Sidney total was their best of the season to date – perhaps a good omen considering the district championship will be held at Monument Shadows in three weeks.

"I don't know what to say, I'm so excited right now," said Raiders' head coach Dani Kuchar after the team victory became official. "Jenn (Dinges, assistant coach) has worked with them all summer and all the hard work is paying off. The girls get all the credit. What a great job they did today."

The Raiders also had a pair of freshmen playing on varsity. While Tiara Ginther (118) and Paige Langley (132) didn't have their best days, they've already proven the future of Sidney girls' golf tradition is in good hands.

Blauert teed off on the first hole in a shotgun start in a threesome with Scottsbluff's Hannah Holloway and Chadron's Alpine Hickstein. Playing alongside two of the field's top golfers gave Blauert an opportunity to see first hand how her top competitors were playing.

Blauert signaled her intentions right from the start when she birdied the par-4 opening hole. She went on to earn another birdie on the par-4 ninth as well as the par-5 16th. The match was close the entire way, however. Holloway finished with a 78 for second place while Hickstein was fourth after carding an 80. Holloway's teammate, Shelby Poynter was third at 79.

"Let's say my smile didn't go away the rest of the day after the birdie on one," Blauert said. "Even after getting a double (bogey) at eight, I continued to play with confidence. I knew going up the ninth that I would get a 38 with a par or a 37 with a birdie. I wasn't thinking about the eighth."

After dropping a 15-foot putt for birdie on 16, she played the final two holes in textbook fashion. She reached both greens in regulation and two putted. The final putt was punctuated by a gentle fist pump and hugs from family, coaches and teammates.

Alexander, a sophomore, finished off an outstanding round despite five three putts. Her best round last season was a 95 – a score she has topped in every tournament this year since the season opener.

"I'm not really happy with my score, but I'm always very hard on myself," Alexander said. "I missed four three-foot putts where I burned the edges and a couple of four or five footers."

Neal's career-best equalizer came despite struggling early with a strong wind that kicked up midway through her round.

"When the wind kicked up after the front nine, that frustrated me for a couple of holes," Neal said. "But I worked it out and when I adjusted, I was fine the rest of the way."

For Parsons, the strong wind never seemed to be an issue. Though she battled some chipping issues, she used the wind rather than fight it.

"I played with the wind perfectly well today," Parsons said. "I hit the ball where the wind would take it back to the hole and I never really worried about it."

Sidney will take on their archrival Scottsbluff again on their home course this weekend. Sidney will be at the Scotts Bluff Country Club at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

TUESDAY’S GERING INVITE RESULTS

Team Scores

1. Sidney 353

2. Scottsbluff 360

3. McCook 371

4. Gering 406

5. Ogallala 418

6. Chadron 454

7. Bayard 464

8. Bridgeport 535

Creek Valley NTS

Alliance NTS

Gering JV NTS

Gordon-Rushville NTS

Kimball NTS

Mitchell NTS

Scottsbluff JV NTS

Individual Results

1. Rachel Blauert Sidney 77

2. Hannah Holloway Scottsbluff 78

3. Shelby Poynter Scottsbluff 79

4. Alpine Hickstein Chadron 80

5. Emma Alexander Sidney 85

6. Kira Mestl Ogallala 86

7. Megan Neal Sidney 89

8. Hannah Kohl McCook 91

9. Kacee Samway McCook 91

10. Cassidy Redl McCook 93

Sidney Scores

Rachel Blauert 77

Emma Alexander 85

Megan Neal 89

Taylor Parsons 102

Tiara Ginther 118

Paige Langley 132

Creek Valley Scores

Maddy Johnson 124

Jaden Criswell 131

Jo Hummermeier 140