McCook boys 7th at Kearney golf meet

KEARNEY, Neb. -- The McCook High School boys golf team turned in a good effort in a competitive Kearney Invitational Friday, April 5.

The Bison boys tied for seventh in the final team standings in the 18-hole event at the Meadowlark Hills Golf Course.

Class A squads from Norfolk and Lincoln Southwest battled for top team honors. Norfolk won the title with a low score of 323 strokes. Southwest was second at 329.

Six teams finished within eight strokes in a tight battle. Holdrege took third place eight a 337, with Broken Bow and Columbus tied for fourth at 342. Fremont shot a 343 for sixth, followed by the Bison and Hastings at 345. Grand Island and Kearney tied for ninth, each with a 348.

Each school was allowed to enter five individuals, with the low four 18-hole individual scores added to determine a team total.

McCook head coach Rick Haney felt all of his players competed well with high winds buffeting the shooters all day.

Sean Backer paced the Bison with a 79, tied with three other shooters. After a scorecard playoff, the senior was awarded the seventh-place medal.

"Sean recovered very well after some concerns of getting off the tee, and he found several sand traps that challenged him on the course," Coach Haney said. "Sean is getting better every day. He definitely is focused and works each practice very hard.

Junior Mack Alspaugh shot an 82, one stroke out of the top 10. Alspaugh was tied with four other golfers, and the scorecard playoff gave him a 16th-place finish.

"This is the most focused I have seen Mack this year. It was nice to see him get after it and compete in this field," Haney said.

Noah Hofman recovered from a rough front nine to card an 84 to finish 22nd after a scorecard playoff. Hofman rallied with a 38 on the back nine after his opening 46.

Juniors David Durner and Ben Skiles also competed for the Bison. Durner shot a 100 and Skiles carded a 102 on a challenging course made even more difficult with the windy conditions, Haney said.

Marcus Miller and Tanner Johnson of Broken Bow each shot 76 to claim the top two spots in the individual standings.

KEARNEY INVITATIONAL

Team Standings

Top 10 Individual Medalists

(Ties broken by scorecard playoff)