Four Girls, Eight Boys Left at Nebraska Junior Match Play
First Two Rounds of Matches Conducted Tuesday at Norfolk Country Club
NORFOLK (July 9, 2024) - Four girls are left at the 62nd Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship and eight boys at the 35th Nebraska Junior Match Play Championship, after two rounds of matches on Tuesday at Norfolk Country Club.
Both No. 1 seeds are still alive, after cruising through their first two matches with ease. Lincoln's Naryn Kim, the Defending Champion, needed just 25 holes to get through her matches, while Omaha's Trevor Gutschewski needed 28 holes to close out his.
Kim, 13, continued her quest for back-to-back titles in style, winning her Round of 16 match over Julia Messere of Grand Island, 7 and 5. She went on to win her Quarterfinal match by an even larger margin, defeating Omaha's Ellen Bode, 7 and 6. Kim is set to face-off against Berwyn's Camryn Johnson in the Semifinals. Johnson also won big in her Quarterfinal match, defeating Scottsbluff's Nielli Heinold, 7 and 6.
Gutschewski started strong as well, jumping out to a lead in his Round of 32 match against Scottsbluff's Tommy Dredla. His lead reached 4 up, before he closed out the match on No. 16, 3 and 2. Gutschewski, the 2022 Nebraska Junior Amateur Champion, picked up the pace in the Round of 16. He didn't lose a hole against Kearney's Koji Kitabatake and rolled to a 7-and-6 win. He'll face Grand Island's Prestin Vilai in the Quarterfinals.
In the other girls' Semifinal, Omaha's Lauren Murnan will face Omaha's Julia Karmazin. Murnan rolled in a birdie putt on No. 15 to take down Fremont's Ansley Giesselmann. Karmazin, who is looking to win her third-straight NebGolf junior title, survived a couple tough matches. The two-time Nebraska Girls' Amateur Champion defeated Lauren's older sister, Madison, in the Round of 16, 2 and 1. Karmazin then rolled in a putt on No. 18 to win, 1 up, over Minden's KayLynn Jorgensen.
The heavyweight matches continue on the boys' side, with Lincoln's Gavin Gerch and Omaha's Jackson Benge in the second Quarterfinal. Gerch, who was the No. 1 seed at the Nebraska Match Play last month, won his first match, 5 and 4, over Omaha's Colvin Zimmerman. He then took down the Defending Champion, Owen Tucker of Lincoln, in the Round of 16, 3 and 2.
Benge, the 2022 Champion, was an inch from going to extra holes against Omaha's Trey Ruge in the Round of 16. Benge birdied No. 17 to take a 1-up lead, but Ruge hit two near-perfect shots into the par-5 18th holes. Ruge's eagle putt lipped out and Benge rolled in his birdie putt to secure the 1-up win.
The third Quarterfinal features two former Nebraska Junior Golfers of the Year, Coltrane Mittag of Ashland and Thomas Bryson of Lincoln. Mittag, the No. 2 seed, secured his spot by defeating Omaha's Connor Steichen, the 2021 Nebraska Junior Amateur Champion. Bryson rallied from a 3-down deficit in his Round of 32 match against Lincoln's Frankie Dawson, winning four-straight holes and eventually securing a 1-up win. He then outlasted Lincoln's Carter Honnens, 2 and 1.
Omaha's Tommy Kelley and William Barth will square up in the last Quarterfinal. Kelley did something no one has been able to do this year in the Round of 32. He defeated the 2024 Nebraska Match Play and Nebraska Junior Amateur Champion Beau Petersen of Gretna, 3 and 2. Kelley birdied the first hole to take the lead and never trailed. He then won the first three holes against Elkhorn's Tyler Nietfeldt and held on to win, 2 and 1.
The boys' Quarterfinals start at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, with the girls' Semifinals to follow. Kim and Johnson face-off at 8:10 a.m., with Murnan and Karmazin at 8:20 a.m. The boys' Semifinals will follow in the afternoon, and the girls' Final is scheduled for 12:50 p.m.
The brackets are available under the Scoring tab of the championship websites below, along with full qualifying results and additional information.
Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship
Nebraska Junior Match Play Championship
About NebGolf
The Nebraska Golf Association (NebGolf), founded in 1966, is comprised of all members of public and private clubs and/or municipal or regional golf associations which utilize an approved handicap service recognized by the USGA and provided by NebGolf. Our mission is to uphold and promote the game of golf and its values to all golfers in Nebraska. Among the duties of the Association include governance of member clubs and service as their handicapping and course rating authority, conduct of state golf championships, local USGA qualifying & other notable competitions, promotion of junior golf, presentation of worthwhile educational programs and support of allied golf organizations in Nebraska. The Nebraska Golf Association is an Allied Golf Association of the USGA and carries out core services including Handicap Administration and Oversight, Course Rating, Rules of Golf and Rules of Amateur Status, Tournaments and USGA Championship Qualifiers and USGA Initiatives and Community Programs.
