 The NU High Boys golf team had an outstanding season in 2009. Led by five varsity letter winners who accounted for all the
scoring in every match all season, NU recorded the second lowest scoring average for the year in school history, shooting
162.87,just bettering last year’s state championship team effort. The Panthers won the NICL Conference Tournament for
the second straight year, which was a first in school history. They also won the BCLUW invitational,and had five players make
all tournament, another first in NU History.
Pacing the team efforts for the year were a talented trio of senior Thomas Creeden,junior Jalen Bergman and sophomore Joe
Weber. All three were within 1½ strokes of each other all year, and each was the low counter for NU on several occasions.
Junior Emmett Fritz and sophomore Andrew Stone also contributed significantly with each player posting a counting score in
over half the meets during the season. Other members of the team during the 2009 season included letter-winner senior Kendall
Jackson, and JV award winners juniors Spencer Jensen and Will Rector, sophomore Alex Quinones, and freshman Jesse Bankston.
Joe Weber had the most outstanding year of any Panther, recording a stroke average of 39.68, which is the 9th best all time.
He also registered the low counting score for NU in over half of the meets during the year. Weber’s District Tournament
score of 71 at Pheasant Ridge was the best District score ever recorded, and among the best tournament rounds ever in school
history. At the state meet Joe shot a two-day total of 163, good for 5th best all time. Weber also was the runner-up in the
tough NICL tournament, and finished in the top ten in all five major tournaments. Thomas Creeden, meanwhile, capped off
an illustrious career with top ten finishes in all 5 tournaments, including being the medalist at the BCLUW Invitational with
a phenomenal 9 hole round of 2-under par 33. Jalen Bergman contributed four top ten finishes to the team during the year.
Weber, Bergman, and Creeden were all named NICL all-conference.
The season ended on a bittersweet note, as NU nearly shot a school record in the District Tournament, posting an outstanding
team score of 311. Unfortunately, this was not to be a year of good fortune, as the two top teams in the state of Iowa were
also in the field. Grundy Center and Newman HS of Mason City both bettered the mark set by NU, and advanced to the state
tournament, five shots ahead of the Panthers. Coach Lee Weber commented saying, “Last year we were very fortunate to
have terrible weather help us at the state tournament; this year we had perfect weather on the most important day (the district
tournament) and that allowed lots of other teams and players to shoot very low scores. Had we gotten the wind that usually
blows out at Pheasant Ridge, or even the rain that was in the forecast, I think we would have held our scores, but other teams
would have struggled. But you can’t control the weather, and you can’t play defense in golf. I hope it doesn’t
take anything away from our players. They had an outstanding season, and I am very proud of them.”
Golf Team Manual
Golf Schedule 2010
NU Golf Stats 2009
NUHS All Time Golf Records
United States Golf Association Home Page
|
