Scottsbluff opens up 20-shot lead

Scottsbluff lived up to its billing as the pre-tournament favorite, building a 20-stroke lead Monday in first-round play of the Class B girls state golf meet.

Playing in cold and windy conditions at Grand Island Riverside Golf Club, the Bearcats shot 346, getting them off to a strong start in their quest for a third Class B state title in the past six years.

"That's about what we've been shooting, although we didn't play very well on the back nine," Scottsbluff coach Mike Klein said of his team's first-round performance. "Fortunately for us, we got off to a good start on the front nine, so that was a positive."

Defending champion Beatrice is the closest team to Scottsbluff, shooting 366. Gretna heads into Tuesday's final 18-hole round third (376) in the team race, followed by Sidney (384) and Grand Island Northwest (387).

The Vikings were led by junior Amy Knapp, who posted a 93 to put herself into a 15th-place tie with Taylor Thompson of Hastings and Erin Schoenbeck of Norris. Other Northwest scores included Megan Jenneman's 95, Alyssa Raile's 96, Sarah Phinney's 103 and Jenna Nelson's 118.

"The girls battled through some cold on that front nine, improved on the second nine and put us in a position where we can at least be competitive (Tuesday)," Northwest coach Dick Colvin said. "We're really happy."

Colvin said the Vikings played consistent golf, despite having little experience playing at Riverside. Northwest's home course in Jackrabbit Run.

"I was really pleased with the girls and how they went out and stayed steady all day," Colvin said. "They didn't have any real bad holes -- nothing really spectacular-- but they stayed steady."

Beatrice's Elizabeth Havekost shot a 7-over-par 79 to take the lead for individual honors by one stroke over Alexandria Schluter of Scottsbluff and McKenzie O'Connell of Sidney. The Lady Orange senior capped her round by holing out on a 40-yard chip for birdie on the par-5 18th hole.

"It was a nice way to finish," Havekost said. "I heard someone yell, ’It's in the hole!' and then it actually went in. I was very surprised.

"It was very excited. I was kind of just stunned that it went in."

With temperatures in the 40s early in the day, Havekost said she just focused on playing her best with the knowledge that every other player was battling the same conditions. As the sun came out, Havekost said her putter also heated up.

"My putting needed a little help early, but part-way through the round, I just started hitting them a little bit harder and had a little more confidence," Havekost said. "I decided to just go for it and not really worry about missing and that ended up helping me out."

Considering that the forecast was calling for rain most of Monday, Klein said the state tournament participants actually caught a huge break.

"It was cold and kind of windy, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been," Klein said. "(Sunday) night, we were just prepared to play in the rain, so we kind of got lucky there.

"We really hadn't really played in any bad weather yet this year, so I was pretty pleased with the way they responded."

Scottsbluff enters the final round with three players also in the hunt for a top-15 finish and a medal. In addition to Schluter, Kaylee Koeppen stands seventh (85), while Drew Isham is 14th (92).

Klein said the final-round approach for the Bearcats is simple.

"We're going to be playing the best we can and playing for the individual stuff, too, and not worrying about how many ahead or behind we are," Klein said. "They've done it all year. Out west, they've won a lot of 18-hole tournaments by 40 shots, so it's just a matter of going out there and just playing golf, playing your best and playing against yourself.

"That's something these girls have been pretty good at doing."

E-mail Terry Douglass