Porter Topp leads Westside to Metro golf championship

The school year is coming to a close, which means it is officially boys golf playoff season. The Westside boys golf team competed in Metro Conference Championships at Benson golf course on Wednesday, May 10. After the Warriors recently set a school record for the lowest score ever posted, they continued their success with a first place finish in the Metro tournament. The team shot a combined score of 285 to win the team title.  The second place spot went to the Creighton Prep Junior Jays, who had a combined score of 291. 

The Metro champion of the tournament was Westside’s Porter Topp, who shot a 68. The senior is committed to play golf at the University of Nebraska-Omaha this fall and has been a standout player this season for the Warriors. Topp’s 68 aided his team in shooting the record for the tournament at 285. Topp was Westside’s first Metro champion since Grant Jabenis in 2019. 

“It means a lot,” Topp said. “It’s a big thing at Westside, especially since we hosted it this year.  It’s always fun to win a tournament. This is my first win for the year so it’s definitely a big deal.” 

This was an extremely important win for the Warriors and also for Porter. They not only kept their state championship hopes alive, but they also broke a Metro record while they were at it. 

“This one is always a good one to win, I think we were ready for it,” Topp said. “Coming off that really good record a few weeks ago just really helps, shows we can make birdies and overall perform as a team.” 

As the Warriors continue their season they will be competing at Districts on Monday, May 15. 

They will hope to keep their playoff hopes alive as they compete at MeadowLark golf course in Kearney, Nebraska. 

“We’re coming in hot, we feel good,” Topp said “We have won the last two as a full team, so it can’t feel much better than that.”

Sophomore Trevor Gutschewski and junior Jackson Benge both shot a 71 at one-under par at the Metro tournament. The two underclassmen have been vital for the Warriors this season and they are only getting better. After going one-over on the front nine, Gutschewski  turned it around and went two-under on the back nine. On the last five holes, Gutschewski birdied three holes and went even on the other two.. The impressive performance tied Gutschewski with Benge, giving them the honor of Metro runner-up. 

First year coach Jered Hellman was named the “Metro Conference Golf Coach of the Year.” He spoke on how Porter has been influential for Westside over the last four years.

“I can talk about Porter all night,’’ Hellman said. “When he’s in the mode like that, we call him ‘PT Cruiser.’ Because he’s just solid with his mental toughness. We always say we kind of laugh at his scorecards because there’s bogeys and birdies, but I can count on Porter.”

Over the last few years the “powerhouses” of boys golf in Nebraska have been Westside, Creighton Prep, and Lincoln Southeast. Last year Westside lost to Southeast by just one stroke in Districts. For the years to come these three teams will be indispensable in the high school golf circuit.

“It’s going to go down to the wire on anything with Prep and Southeast and some of these other teams,” Hellman said. “We talk about finishing. We finished.”