Grand Island Senior High's Hannah Huston capped an impressive one-year prep golf career by bringing home hardware from the Class A girls state tournament.
Huston, who shot an opening-round 92 on Monday, improved to an 85 in Tuesday's second round at Norfolk Country Club. The Islander senior's 36-hole total of 179 earned her a 10th-place state medal in her first year of high school golf after competing in volleyball the past three years.
"It feels good and I'm really excited because I really wasn't expecting to finish in the top 10," Huston said. "It was a little more fun today because I played a little better the second day and shaved off five strokes. It's kind of hard for me to believe that I got a medal at state."
Huston said keeping her expectations in check helped calm her nerves in her first state golf tournament appearance.
"Going in, I just had the attitude that I had nothing to lose," Huston said. "I wanted to do well, but taking that approach kept me more relaxed. I just kept swinging hard and trying not to get tense."
Grand Island coach Kelli Jeffries said Huston played much better in the second round on a difficult course.
``Hannah really did a good job of keeping it in play," Jeffries said. "She didn't really get into a whole lot of trouble the whole day."
Huston had one double bogey in the second round, that coming on the front nine. She closed with a 42 on the back to clinch a top-10 finish.
"All in all, Hannah was just really steady at state," Jeffries said. "We talked about it before the tournament and she had the 15th-best score going in and we really thought that she could realistically get inside the top 10. Then, she went right out and did it."
Jeffries said she was proud of the amount of progress Huston made in less than a year's time in competitive golf.
"Hannah was always a good ball-striker," Jeffries said. "She just kept getting a little better each day with her short game and she really putted well in the state tournament."
Huston said receiving a state-tournament medal was definitely a satisfying experience.
"I was just thinking about all the hard work I put in with my dad and with my teammates," Huston said. "I learned a ton and I learned that competitive golf is not the easiest thing to do -- it was actually one of the hardest things I've ever done -- but it was also a lot of fun."
Class A
At Norfolk Country Club
Team Standings
x-Won playoff
x-Omaha Marian 716, Fremont 716, Norfolk 755, Millard North 777, Columbus 788, Lincoln Southeast 793, Lincoln Pius X 799, Elkhorn 807, Bellevue West 845, Lincoln Southwest 858, Papillion-La Vista South 869, North Platte 912.
Individual Results
McKayla Anderson, Fremont 78-81--159
Jacqueline O'Doherty, Lincoln East 84-77--161
Nicole Mooberry, Norfolk 78-85--163
Jordan Rearick, Omaha Marian 85-82--167
Calie Trusler, Millard North 86-87--173
Sophie Peters, Fremont 87-86--173
Emily Gonderinger, Omaha Bryan 86-89--175
Melyssa Doerr, Papillion-La Vista 91-86--177
Lindsay Determan, Lincoln Pius X 92-86--178
Hannah Huston, Grand Island 92-87--179
Courtney Smith, Omaha Marian 97-83--180
Lauren Bahle, Norfolk 92-90--182
Christina VonRiesen, Millard West 93-90--183
Sara Thurley, Columbus 95-88--183
Morgan Smejkal, Columbus 96-86--183
Sydney Smith, Omaha Marian 93-91--184
Lindsay Weideman, Omaha Burke 97-89--186
Erin O'Brien, Omaha Marian 98-88--186
Makenzie Deutschman, North Platte 93-94--187
Mariel Groh, Fremont 100-88--188
Renee Van Beaumont, Millard North 91-91--188
Macrina Abdouch, Millard North 93-98--191
Caroline Nelsen, Omaha Marian 101-90--191
Chelsea Peck, Lincoln Southeast 100-91--191
Claire Mueller, Lincoln Southeast 99-94--193
Gentry Carveth, Lincoln Southwest 103-91--194
Caitlin Fieselman, Lincoln Pius X 107-87--194
Anna Saeger, Fremont 97-99--196
Jessyca Herman, Bellevue West 99-98--197
Ramsey Miller, Papillion-La Vista South 94-104--198
Jenna Krieger, Lincoln Southeast 105-93--198
Morgan Lago, Elkhorn 102-97--199
Taylor Marasco, Elkhorn 100-99--199
Brittany Holen, Elkhorn 101-100--201
Emma Mabry, Lincoln Southwest 101-101--202
McKenzie Buettner, Norfolk 102-100--202
Taylor Anderson, Millard South 98-104--202
Sydnay Youtz, Bellevue West 101-102--203
Amanda Ballweg, Columbus 110-97--207
Claire Hulett, Fremont 102-105--207
Allison Drain, Elkhorn 104-104--208
Micaela Lardy, Norfolk 109-99--208
Sydney Alfieri, Millard South 109-101--210
Virginia Murphy, Lincoln Southeast 107-104--211
Ellen Larsen, Lincoln Pius X 104-109--213
Sarah Bossard, Lincoln Pius X 108-106--214
Bethany Drain, Elkhorn 110-104--214
Paige Theilen, Columbus 103-112--215
Jessica Blunk, Papillion-La Vista South 109-107--216
Tori Parent, Lincoln Southeast 109-107--216
Alexandra Jankowski, Bellevue West 112-106--218
Devon Pascoe, North Platte 105-118--223
Megan Sisson, Papillion-La Vista South 116-107--223
Ashley Anderson, Norfolk 114-110--224
Madelin Brown, Millard West 113-112--225
Gabrielle Wethor, Bellevue West 117-110--227
Jennifer Dickey, Millard Northy 118-109--227
Jordan Paul, Lincoln Pius X 115-114--229
Jenna Wiese, Lincoln Southwest 117-112--229
Jacqueline Baude, Papillion-La Vista South 111-121--232
Shelly Li, Millard North 125-107--232
Tasha Keiter, Kearney 128-108--236
Clare Espinosa, Lincoln Southwest 122-116--238
Hilary Spelts, North Platte 123-116--239
Natalie Riggs, Lincoln Southwest 132-111--243
Shayla Rudy, Columbus 128-132--260
Melissa Wilkinson, North Platte 135-128--263
Stephanie Weaver, Papillion-La Vista South 134-136--270
Amanda Nigro, Bellevue West 143-149--292
Stephanie Eggleston, North Platte 156-149--305
