HORSTMAN HEADS BACK TO STATE GOLF FOR FOURTH YEAR!
First Ever HHS Golfer to Qualify Every Year in High School
Unprecedented 4-time State Golf Qualifier for Hemingford
On a beautifully calm day, on a golf course ranked 75th in the nation, Jacob Horstman set his sights on returning to the Nebraska High School State Golf Tournament for the fourth year in a row. This feat is not easily accomplished, as it has never been done before in Hemingford history. From the time the team arrived at The Prairie Club for district competition, Horstman looked as if he had ice in his veins. There was a calm confidence and an intense focus on what he needed to do from the time he started his practice round the day before until his ball hit the bottom of the cup on the 18th hole, finishing up a 6-over-par, 79 for the district tournament. That 79 would be good for a 3rd place finish and a trip to compete in the NSAA Individual State Golf Tournament to be held at the Kearney Country Club on the 24th and 25th of May.
As a coach, the importance of staying calm and collected through the highs and lows during a round of golf cannot be overstated. After all of the golfing experience that Horstman has had during his high school career, he knew this more than anyone. He did not let his emotions get out of check. He stayed humble after his great shots, which were plentiful, and he stayed calm and collected after a few shots that went astray. The mental aspect of his game is what I am most proud of as his coach for the past four years.
Horstman now has one last goal to achieve before his high school golfing career comes to an end: to earn a medal at the State Tournament. I have no doubt that if he brings that same amount of focus and mental stability to Kearney Country Club next week, he will put himself in prime position to bring home a medal to represent all of his hard work and dedication. The competition at the State Tournament will be the hardest he has faced to this point in his career as he will be competing in the Class C Division of the State Tournament. This will be a great opportunity for him to grow even more as he prepares himself for collegiate competition, playing for Doane College next year.
Jacob’s leadership skills were also prevalent during the district competition. During the practice round on Monday and before the tournament began on Tuesday, he took several opportunities to “coach” his classmates and teammates. His selflessness allowed him to better the play and preparation for Lee Jespersen, Zach Grumbles, Robert Heule and Matthew Sorensen throughout the season. Lee finished his high school golfing career by putting up a score of 101, Zach finished with a 109, Robert a 114 and Matthew with a 148. I will greatly miss this group of seniors and hope that they can take some of the skills they learned in golf and apply them to their everyday lives in the future.
Jacob continues to astound me with the caliber of character he has been cultivating during his golfing career at Hemingford. He continues to set the stage for more great opportunities, not only in the game of golf, but in the game of life. It has been an honor and privilege for me to say the least to be able to help Jacob achieve his goals and to witness all of his accomplishments along the way. I pray that he has a little bit of good fortune on his side next week in order to finish his high school career with an exclamation mark.