Spring sports have made a return once again. This season, the Warriors boys golf team hopes to take home their third state championship in a row. The boys kicked off their season last week with a second place tie in a quad event at Benson country club. This event included powerhouse programs from around the state including Creighton Prep, Lincoln Southeast, and Creighton Prep. Overall, the Warriors tied with Creighton Prep for a second place finish and a combined total score of 294. Coming in first was Lincoln Southeast with a score of 287 and bringing up the rear was Millard North with a team score of 287. Seeing as it is their first event, this was a jumping off point for the Warriors. Furthermore, it is a chance to see where they are as a team. Third year head coach Jered Hellman shared his thoughts on the performance.
“The Quad is always a great event to see how hard the boys have worked in the off-season,” Hellman said. “We learned what we already knew – this year’s Class A field is very talented, and our best golf will be needed to reach our goals.”
Although the Warriors came in second there were tons of positives. Some of them being, a 14 stroke improvement from the same event in 2024 and good information on how to proceed for the rest of the season. Coach Hellman says that finishing first is just the tip of the iceberg.
“Golf isn’t about focusing on what went wrong,” Hellman said. “There will always be strokes left on the course, missed putts, and mistakes off the tee. Many might say that because we didn’t win the event, we “failed,” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We improved our 2024 score by 14 strokes and played some excellent golf. Lincoln Southeast was simply better that day, and we tip our hats to them and got back to work.”
As for the boys individual scores, the Warriors’ five men for this event consisted of seniors Trevor Gutschewski and Chris Whittle playing the one and two spot, sophomores Tye Treadwell and Knox Pocras and playing the three and four spot, and finally, junior Oliver DeMars playing the fifth spot. The scores directly followed the order of the squad. Gutschewski and Whittle shot 70 and 71 respectively. The sophomores, Treadwell and Pocras, shot 76 and 77. While DeMars man brought up the rear with a 79. Senior Trevor Gutschewski shared his thoughts on how he perceived his team’s performance.
“It was a solid first outing,” Gutschewski said. “Obviously we always want a first place finish, but I think that we had some trade offs this time around. We played a lot better in this event then we did last year, so that was definitely a positive. It’s our first event, so we were able to see where we were as a team and we have some stuff to work on in the coming weeks.”
Overall, the Warriors had several impressive scores from the tournament. Trevor Gutschewski’s 70 put him second overall and first on the team. As for Chris Whittle, his 71 tied him with several other competitors for third place overall. Coach Hellman shared how his team was able to accomplish this and how they will continue consistency in the upcoming weeks.
“We maintained our composure and handled ourselves like true professionals,” Hellman said. “Controlling emotions on the golf course is a challenge, even for seasoned pros, so it speaks to our team’s growth that we were able to do so, especially considering the pressure high school boys face. Our boys are held to a high standard on the course, and they represent Westside with class.”
