Four Girls, Eight Boys Remain at Wayne CC
WAYNE (June 20, 2023) - The fields for the 61st Nebraska Girls' Match Play Championship and the 34th Nebraska Junior Match Play Championship are down to just four girls and eight boys, after two rounds of matches at Wayne Country Club on Tuesday.
The No. 1 seed is still alive on the boys' side, but there were several upsets across the board during the first day of match play. Omaha's Jackson Benge, the defending champion, won both of his matches to be the only top seed to advance. On the girls' side, Lincoln's Nicole Kolbas, the No. 2 seed, is the only top four seed left, and she's joined by the No. 5, No. 14 and No. 16 seeds.
Benge jumped out to a big lead in his Round of 32 match against the No. 32 seed, Wyatt O'Mara of Omaha. However, O'Mara, who got into the bracket through a playoff, battled with Benge on the back nine. The two had matching birdies on four holes on that back nine, but Benge's 4-up lead at the turn was too much overcome, and he won 3 and 2.
In the Round of 16, Benge played Ryan Lingelbach of Elkhorn and started hot again, winning the first three holes. Benge, a Husker commit, again had to battle to close out the match, watching his lead fall to 2 up, before he won three-straight holes to close out the match, 5 and 3.
The girls' No. 1 seed, Karsen Morrison of North Platte, fell in the opening round to the No. 16 seed, Elly Honnens of Lincoln. Honnens, who also got into the bracket through a playoff, lost the first two holes to Morrison, a Creighton commit, but never lost a hole again, eventually closing out the match on No. 17, 2 and 1.
Honnens then kept the Cinderella run going by winning her Quarterfinal match against Berwyn's Cameron Johnson, 3 and 1. She'll play the youngest competitor in the girls' field, Naryn Kim of Lincoln. Kim, who is just 12-years-old, rolled to a 5-and-4 win over Minden's KayLynn Jorgensen in the morning, and then defeated Wahoo's Brooke Thiele, 4 and 2, in the afternoon.
Kolbas won her first match easily, 5 and 3, over Olivia Lovegrove of Lincoln, and then survived a battle with Cecilia Arndt of Columbus in the Quarterfinals. Kolbas, the 2021 Nebraska Girls' Amateur Champion, had pulled out to a 3-up lead through 12 holes, but had to fight off a comeback from Arndt, and eventually secured a 1-up win on No. 18.
Kolbas, who is headed to Indiana University to play golf this fall, will play the No. 14 seed Eden Larson of Lincoln in the Semifinals. Larson took down the No. 3 seed Julia Karmazin of Omaha in the Round of 16, 6 and5, and then won 3 and 2 over Elkhorn's Isabelle Gutschewski in the afternoon.
Back on the boys' side, Benge will play Lincoln's Owen Tucker in the Quarterfinals. Tucker won his first match big, 6 and 4 over York's Ryan Seevers, and then outlasted Omaha's Jacob Goertz with a 1-up win.
On the opposite side of the bracket from Benge, Lincoln's Thomas Bryson cruised through both rounds in just 30 holes. Bryson, last year's runner-up, will take on Grand Island's Prestin Vilai in the Quarterfinals.
The reigning NSAA Class A Champion, Porter Topp of Omaha, defeated teammate Trevor Gutschewski of Elkhorn in the Round of 32, before rolling to a 5-and-4 win over Omaha's Kingston Solomon. Topp will face off against Nicklaus Fleming of Columbus in his Quarterfinal match.
In the other Quarterfinal match, Omaha's Tommy Kelley will play York's Emmanuel Jensen, who both won close matches in the Round of 16. Kelley defeated the No. 2 seed Sam Wells of Saint Paul, 2 and 1, while Jensen won 1 up over Parker Bunting of Lincoln.
The boys' quarterfinals begin at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, with the girls' semifinals starting shortly after at 8:10 a.m. The boys' semifinals will follow in the afternoon, with the girls' final shortly after. The updated brackets are available under the Scoring tab of the championship websites below, along with 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.
