Freshmen shine at Lincoln Pius X girls golf meet, help Lincoln Southwest win | Golf

Jim Danson coaches two of them at Lincoln Southwest, Kate Strickland and Neely Adler. They were second and sixth, respectively, as the Silver Hawks won the team title by 21 strokes over Lincoln Southeast. The tournament included the top six teams in Class A.

Strickland and Adler are “fantastic kids,’’ Danson said. “They fit in well. They’re humble, but they’re competitive. They want to win. We’re fortunate to have them.”

Others in this talented class include Ansley Sothan and Adalia Maiyo of Lincoln Southeast, Katie Ruge of Millard North and Kaitlyn Hanna and Claire Bennett of Omaha Westside. All were at the Pius meet except for the Westside duo.

Additionally, Lauren Thiele of Wahoo Neumann will be playing next spring with the boys as her Class C school does not offer girls golf.

At the Nebraska Girls Amateur last month, Strickland was first, Thiele second and Hanna third. Strickland in June made the finals of the Nebraska girls match play and Thiele reached the semifinals.

Pius coach Steph Kolbas said the freshmen are among the first to benefit from expanded competition outside the high school season.

The Nebraska Golf Association and Nebraska Section PGA have combined their summertime junior golf efforts into the Nebraska Team Golf and Nebraska Junior Golf Tour programs. Now there’s a coordinated path for youth from learning the game to handling increased levels of competition.

Kolbas started a U.S. Kids springtime program two years ago, in which many of the Lincoln girls have taken part.

“I’m very impressed with all the freshmen who are playing,’’ Southwest’s Danson said. “We have some really competitive golf coming on board. You can tell they have been playing a lot.”

Strickland, with the first breakthrough win in NGA competition, is a long hitter from a family well-known in Oklahoma. Her father, Craig, was a quarterback at Oklahoma State whose sister married Mike Gundy, the current OSU football coach who was Craig’s position coach.

Kate Strickland, who won her first two tournaments, has finished second in her next two. She shot 77 Tuesday, five strokes behind Luebbe, but matched par 36 on the back nine.

Overnight, her parents had taken her to the emergency room for what was diagnosed as pink eye.

“Kate is the real deal,’’ Danson said. “She has the power, she has the finesse. I’ve never coached a girl who’s so determined to win. She has that extra gear I have not seen in too many girls.

“She had less than two hours but said, ‘I don’t want to miss golf. I don’t want to let my team down.’ ”

Adler shot 82 Tuesday, when there were multiple stoppages of play for lightning. Junior Brynn Sundquist was seventh at 83 as Southwest stayed undefeated through four tournaments.

Luebbe will be a top contender in Class B this season. She tied for fourth as a junior.

“She played really well, especially with the wind change. The north wind made it tough,’’ Danson said. “She was very, very steady and it was not easy out there.”

Team scoring: Lincoln Southwest 334, Lincoln Southeast 355, Papillion-La Vista 360, Grand Island 368, Millard West 369, Millard North 372, Kearney 377, Marian 378, Columbus 399, Lincoln Pius X 411, Lincoln East 427, Papillion-La Vista South 442, Fremont 450, Beatrice 455.

Individual leaders: Aspen Luebbe, C, 72; Kate Strickland, LSW, 77; Jazmine Taylor, MN, 79; Aly Troudt, K, 80; Lauren Carr, LPX, 82; Neely Adler, LSW, 82; Lilly Zoellner, GI, 83; Brynn Sundquist, LSW, 83; Jalea Culliver, Mar., 85; Elly Speece, PLV, 85; Paige Pehrson, GI, 85.