Boys golf team wins District title

The Westside boys golf team is one step closer to a state championship, after their win in the A-2 District tournament at Meadowlark Hills in Kearney on Monday, May 15. This season the Warriors have been roaring up a storm on the course. Led by junior Jackson Benge and sophomore Trevor Gutschewski, they believe they have another shot at taking state this year. After Westside finished in second place last year by just one stroke, the Warriors think they still have a lot to prove to their school.

This season they have been showing up their opponents when it counted the most. After winning the Metro Conference championship, the Warriors took the District title. Westside played for a combined score of 297. Team captain Jackson Benge shot a 70 and senior Porter Topp was close behind with a 73. Next year Porter will be going to UNO to play golf. This year he has taken a key role in the Warriors game on the course. Head coach Jered Hellman has been impressed with Topp’s play this season.                                                                                                                              

“Porter is a stud, his game is so good right now,” Hellman said. “It is a true testament to his hard work and dedication to his craft. Porter’s freshman year was canceled due to Covid, but his game has improved each year and he is now one of the Top players in the State and a Leader on our golf team. Porter is leaving his mark on our program and we are all extremely proud of him.”    

Sophomore Trevor Gutschewski shot a 76, which gave him the fourth spot overall and the third spot on the team. Trevor has been a standout player during his high school career and hopes to continue shining in state.

“I’m pretty satisfied with how I have been playing, but I think there is always room to get better,” Gutschewski said. “This is my first year at Westside and it is my first year to make an impact here. I think the best way to do that would be to help my team win a state championship.”

Just like his players, coach Hellman knows that they are not done yet, and that the most important battle is still to come. 

“This team is special,”  Hellman said.  “They have each other’s backs and no matter what happens, we have had an incredible season.”

Although Gutschewski still aspires for more, he also is very proud of how far his team has come this season. 

“At the beginning of the season we had a lot of new kids coming in and we all have grown together as a team,” Gutschewski said. “I have always thought teamwork was a very important part of succeeding and I think that it has helped us a lot this season. We all hold each other up during the bad parts and we all have a lot to learn from each other.”

After winning Metros and Districts, breaking the school record once, and also breaking it again, it seems like the Warriors have had a fairly successful season. Coach Hellman reflects on how the season went and also what he strives for in the future. 

“This has been an incredible year,” Hellman said. “The level of golf these boys are playing is historic, they broke the Metro tournament record by 4 shots, broke our school record twice this year and we aren’t finished yet.  We have gone from being a group of talented golfers to a very close team.  We rely on each other on and off the course when we aren’t our best and always know one of our teammates will be there to pick us up.”

The Warriors will take a crack at the state title with the opening round at the Norfolk Country Club on Tuesday, May 23.