Blair High School golfer Mackenzie Storjohann played 36 holes Monday and Tuesday in Gering, finishing with 196 total strokes during the NSAA Class B State Golf Championships.
The effort earned a tie for 38th out of 75 of Nebraska's top golfers.
“Overall, I'm incredibly proud,” Bears coach Rachel Brown said.
Storjohann's last 18 holes took 103 swings to complete Tuesday. The senior finished the first nine holes in 53 before carding 50 strokes on the back nine at Monument Shadows Golf Course.
“Putting was a killer today, but she was able to fix it,” Brown said.
Storjohann shot par on three of her last five holes, Nos. 14-18. She was cognizant of the fact that she was playing the last five holes of her high school career as she played them.
“This is my last par-3, my last par-4, my last par-5,” the senior recalled thinking.
A day earlier, the Bear made it a point to not count up her total strokes as she played during Class B's first round. When Brown told her what her final total across 18 holes was, the golfer's reaction was “no way” with a big smile.
As it turned out, the best round of golf Storjohann has ever played came during the NSAA Championships. She finished 18 consistent holes Monday with just 93 strokes, a new career best.
“She did an awesome job of staying resilient,” Brown said. “After a bad shot, she would immediately identify what she did wrong and how to correct it for the next shot.”
Storjohann played the greens well, too, reading them and taking her time with each shot. The result was four sunk par putts and eight bogeys.
Overall, Brown said she was was proud of her state qualifier's growth. Storjohann only broke 100 strokes for the first time this season, but did it routinely across the last few weeks of the schedule.
In addition to Monday's showing, the golfer produced a sub-100 score to qualify for the Gering trip through districts in York.
Storjohann said her improvement came through her mental approach. When she got out of her head, she excelled and earned two days at state.
“It was a great break from school,” she said of the experience, snickering as she noted the “beautiful scenery” at Monument Shadows and in western Nebraska as well.
Now that the season is done, Storjohann said she'll probably take a short break from playing golf, but could definitely see herself out on the course again soon enough.
NSAA CLASS B STATE GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Monday and Tuesday at Monument Shadows Golf Course, Gering
Team standings (36 holes): Omaha Duchesne 704 strokes, Elkhorn North 705, Norris 748, Scottsbluff 756, Omaha Skutt 762, Lincoln Pius X 775, Gretna East 776, Sidney 784, York 791, Bennington 801, Adams Central 812, Grand Island Northwest 863.
Top-10 finishers: 1, Whitney Dahir, Duchesne, 157 strokes. 2, Addison Peck, Scottsbluff, 163. 3, Natalie Shield, Norris, 167. 4, Chelsea Mahloch, Elkhorn North, 169. 5, Kasha Stolberg, Duchesne, 170. 6, Annabelle Bang, Elkhorn, 171. 7, Reese Gloystein, Elkhorn North, 173. 8 (tie), Hannah Swanson, Pius X, and Elliot Selzer, Scottsbluff, 176. 10, Isabelle Johnson, Nebraska City, 178.
Blair result: 38 (tie), Mackenzie Storjohann 196 strokes.
