MariellaVirgillito

Marian Varsity golf had its best season in over a decade. They broke records for the courses they played on almost every week. 

Through their dedication, teamwork and unwavering spirit, Varsity golf achieved a remarkable third place finish at the State Championship, capping off a season filled with plaque-worthy performances in numerous tournaments. On Oct. 10, the varsity athletes traveled to Grand Island’s Riverside Golf Club to compete against Nebraska’s Class A golfers. 

Freshmen Delaney Schmitz, Lauren Murnan and Lucy Peterson competed very well at state. Murnan and Peterson had rounds in the 70s, and Schmitz was Marian’s third best scorer each day at State. 

Along with the freshmen, junior Madison Murnan, the best scorer throughout the regular season, and senior Tori Schenkelberg, the tournament champion at Districts, also golfed at State. Varsity Team Captain, senior Madison Terranova, was the alternate.

Overall, in eight competitions, Varsity had four first-place finishes, two second places and two third places. They also broke the all-time Marian scoring record for an 18-hole tournament.

JV had three first-place finishes and three second places. The top scorer on JV was sophomore Savanna Bradley. 

If the JV team could have played as a Varsity, they would have been Top-10 in Class A and also qualified for State. However, NSAA regulations state that only one team can be sent to compete at State. 

Marian’s golf coach, Robert Davis, is incredibly proud of the athletes and their season. “Madison Murnan was a Top-3 golfer in Class A all season, and the Metro Conference Champion. Madison Terranova demonstrated wonderful team leadership throughout the season. The freshmen on both Varsity and JV were simply amazing. It was, perhaps, the best freshmen class of golfers in Marian history. We just had a lot of fun together,” Davis said. 

Many improvements were added to Marian’s golf equipment, including the addition of putting greens in the Marian Athletic Center (MAC). “Most of our improvements this year were in putting. We made becoming a good putting team a top priority, and we spent a lot of time on putting at practice. We did drills that improved both our long and short putting. Some of our golfers, like Brie McLaughlin and Claire Pogge, had dramatic improvements in their putting performance as a result. Everyone got better at putting to some extent,” Davis said. 

Senior golfer and District Champion, Tori Schenkelberg, found the MAC improved her game tremendously. “Before the MAC, we couldn’t practice if the conditions weren’t right outside or if we didn’t have a facility. Now we don’t have to worry about canceling practice and instead can continue to improve our game. We also had a lot of fun using the hitting bays and putting greens and seeing the area come together,” Schenkelberg said. 

Coach Davis built stands in the MAC that replicate uphill and downhill chipping. There are also areas with nets where golfers can do full swings. The large putting greens have various textures and hills to help the team cover every environment of golf they might encounter. 

Furthermore, there are still advancements to come for Marian’s golf equipment. Through research and visits to many golf labs at universities and high schools in the area, Marian decided to construct a new Golf Science Lab in the MAC. 

“We are very excited about the new Golf Science Lab in the MAC! It will help us quite a bit with our winter program, which goes from January to April. That’s the time of year when we make the biggest changes to our golf swings, and the technology we will have, simulators and high-speed cameras, will make that possible. [Also] just being able to do golf training in the middle of winter is such a huge benefit,” Davis said. 

“We did a cost prediction for the new technology, putting greens and bay areas, which estimated about $150,000. The advancement office then went out and fundraised for the project,” Athletic Director Rochelle Rohlfs said. 

“We will have the largest indoor golf training area in the state of Nebraska,” Davis said.

Unlike other sports, there aren’t many opportunities to practice golf, and playing at expensive country clubs is not accessible for many families. 

Coach Davis started a feeder program to make golf more accessible and affordable for fifth to eighth grade girls. “The Junior Development Team uses the Golf Science Lab and it’s also a great recruitment tool for Marian. We expect to have about 30 girls on our junior team this winter,” Davis said. 

“Coach Davis is really growing the interest of the game, not just for Marian girls, but also for girls that go to other schools. Three of our freshmen from this season joined from the feeder program,” Rohlfs said. 

“I hope that the love and interest for the sport continues to grow. I also hope more and more girls will try to continue to golf as not only a high school sport, but a collegiate and lifetime sport [too], because it’s something that you can play for a very long time,” Rohlfs said.

Varsity golf not only had an extremely successful season, but the athletes embodied each core value in their teamwork, especially compassion. “I want to say how much I love every single one of my teammates. This season I got to know each of them individually and couldn’t feel luckier that I got to play golf with them. I’m never going to experience the love that I did on that team with anyone else. For Maggie, Lauren and Madison, thank you for being such amazing teammates and friends. I wouldn’t have gotten through my four years without you,” Schenkelberg said. 

“We were all so excited to see Tori win her first-ever high school tourney at Districts. Tori has also been a big part of establishing the Marian golf culture, which is an unusual mix of hard work, competitive excellence and the warmth and affection of a very close family. Tori has a big personality. She’s made a huge impact on the Marian Golf Program that will last for years to come,” Davis said.

As for the future of Marian golf, the seasons to come are looking very bright. “We were clearly the best golf team in Omaha last season. Next year, we shoot for the best in Nebraska. Finishing third at State with three freshmen was just incredible. No team has done that in recent history. From our Junior Development Team, we expect to get another strong class of incoming golfers next year and the years beyond. We want to be the best girls golf program in Nebraska and one of the best in the Midwest,” Davis said.