Scotus golf headed to state

EAGLE - The Scotus Central Catholic girl's golf team took third at district play in Eagle Monday to qualify for the state tournament.

Freshman Jacy Gasper led the Shamrocks, hitting a 96 to take sixth-place in the tournament. This qualified Gasper on the individual as well and team level.

“She putted OK,” Scotus head coach Tanya Niedbalski said of Gasper's game. “She just struggled from tee to green. I think all of the players played all right, but they could have played better.”

Niedbalski and her Shamrock players, who recorded a 432 on the day, are excited to be going to state, but they know they could have had a better showing at districts, Niedbalski said.

“We didn't play our best golf today,” she said. “Nerves, combined with being unfamiliar with the golf course, were the cause for some frustrating early holes. But the girls played better on the back nine, except for Jacy.”

Gasper's best part of the round was her front nine.

Another contributing factor to the team's discomfort on the day, according to Niedbalski, was they hadn't played against many of the teams at districts.

“The only two teams we were familiar with were Fullerton and Central City. We hadn't played or seen any of the other teams during the regular season.”

That being said, the fact Scotus didn't play as well as it would have liked and still finished third has the whole team excited about state.

“They're ready and pumped up for it,” Niedbalski said.

The team has a couple of ideas on how to do better this coming week during the state tournament at Grand Island. Niedbalski said the girls have no intention on being unfamiliar with the golf course they play on this time around.

“They're willing to practice to get ready,” Niedbalski said. “The girls are talking about going down to Riverside in Grand Island to get familiar with the course.”

Fullerton also qualified a golfer at the tournament. Shelby Wetovick came through for the Warriors with a 102 to nab the 10th and final state-qualifying position for individual golfers.

Fullerton finished seventh in the team standings with a score of 483.

In Class B-1 district action, Schuyler failed to qualify, finishing seventh.

Class C-1 Districts

Monday at Eagle

n Team rankings-1. Syracuse 410, 2. Lincoln Lutheran 411, 3. Scotus 432, 4. Heartland 463, 5. Tri County 466, 6. Johnson County Central 470, 7. Fullerton 483, 8. HTRS/SE 485, 9. Superior 495, 10. Exeter-Milligan 530, 11. Central City 581, 12. Auburn n/a, 13. Palmyra n/a.

n State qualifiers-1. Stephanie Rogers, Syracuse, x-81, 2. Amy Swearer, Lincoln Lutheran, 81, 3. Jordan Schaardt, HTRS/SE, 81, 4. Samantha Nielsen, Superior, 87, 5. Melany Atkins, Heartland, 93, 6. Jacy Gasper, Scotus, 96, 7. Katelin Brennan, Lincoln Lutheran, 97, 8. Abby Hahn, Tri County, x-99, 9. Traci Capek, Exeter-Milligan, 99 10. Shelby Wetovick, Fullerton, 102.

x-won playoff.

n Scotus Results: Gasper 96, Schalise Vancura 110, Sara Zywiec 112, Liz Zabawa 114, Jenna Roh 121

n Fullerton Results: Wetovick 102, Lauren Melander 118, Karley Collins 121, Miranda Stanczyk 142, Danielle Murray 160