By Marisa Dawson, Photos courtesy of Ben Deines
The Bennington girls varsity golf team opened its season Thursday with a ninth-place finish among 15 teams at the Millard North/Papio Invite at Miracle Hill Golf Course.
The Badgers competed against a strong field that included several Class A programs from the Omaha and Lincoln areas. Bennington finished the day with senior Makaila Behrens leading the team with an 86, while sophomore Cloie Clark followed closely with a 90.
Katie Kos, Hadley Petersen and Grace Pfeifer also competed for the Badgers.
For head coach Ben Deines, the opening tournament offered an early opportunity to see how his team measured up against some of the state’s top competition while also giving his younger golfers valuable varsity experience.
“The girls were really positive throughout the tournament yesterday, we had two girls that have never played in a varsity invite which can be intimidating but they handled themselves really well,” he said.
While the ninth-place finish gives the team areas to improve, Deines said he came away encouraged by what he saw from his golfers.
“This invite was good because it really lets me know what we need to work on and it also tells me where we stack up against some of the best teams in class A,” he explained.
The coach acknowledged that some of the girls were disappointed with their results, but he sees the first invite as a starting point rather than a final measure of the team’s potential. Bennington’s season goal is to reach the state tournament, and Deines believes the team has plenty of time to make the improvements necessary to get there.
“We have room for improvement and I know that some of the girls were disappointed with the result yesterday, but I was actually encouraged,” he added. “Our goal is to make it to the state tournament at the end of the season and I know that if we work hard, we can achieve that.”
As the season continues, Deines said he is most interested in watching the Badgers develop from tournament to tournament.
“I’m just really looking forward to seeing the girls improve throughout the season… it is not going to happen overnight.”
One player to watch throughout the season will be Behrens, who could make Bennington history. The senior has an opportunity to become the first girl in Bennington history to qualify for the state tournament all four years of her high school career.
With the first tournament now behind them, the Badgers will look to build on the experience gained at Miracle Hill as they continue working toward their goal of reaching the state tournament.
