Messere finishes strong to win state golf title

Aurora’s two state golf qualifiers both carded memorable experience in Scottbluff last week, with senior Julia Messere finishing as the Class B champion and junior Delainey Phillips coming within four strokes of a medal, giving her extra motivation to tee it up at state next year.
Messere didn’t know exactly where she stood in the two-day tournament as she played the final few holes of her high school golf career. Walking the fairways on a sunny afternoon at the Scottsbluff Country Club she knew she was playing well and just wanted to finish strong, hoping for a top five finish.
She reached that goal, and then some.
Messere’s strategy to focus on one shot at a time paid off in gold, as she won medalist honors with a two-day total of 162, two strokes better than Addison Peck of Scottsbluff and Ellie Henn of Gretna East, who tied for second. Omaha Duchesne Academy won the team title, finishing a stroke lower than Elkhorn North.
Moments after receiving her gold medal, Messere was giddy with excitement, still somewhat in shock with how the day finished.
“It feels so surreal,” Messere said in a phone interview shortly after the medal ceremony. “I really haven’t even processed it yet.”
Entering the final round tied for third, four strokes back of the leader, Messere said her goal starting out on a dry but chilly morning in Scottsbluff was to focus on her game, playing one shot at a time.
“I was focused mostly on just trying to get pars wherever I could, hitting the best shots I could,” she said of a round that included eight pars. “I genuinely did not think I had a chance at first. I thought I was going to get somewhere in the top five, so it was an amazing surprise when I got finished to see where I stood.”
Messere put herself in a position to win by playing some stellar golf down the stretch, closing with a 39 on a back nine which included two birdies. She played the par-5 15th as well as planned, blasting a drive into the fairway, hitting a 4 iron close to the green then chipping on and sinking a long putt for birdie. Then after posting pars on 16 and 17, she drilled her drive on the 18th, stuck her approach with a pitching wedge from 120 yards out to five feet, and sank the putt for a birdie three.
“Honestly, everything came together there,” she described. “I spent so long trying to get my game to where it is today, I knew I just had to commit my shots and it would fall in place.”
And it did!
After she had completed her tournament with a final round of 80, Messere was two strokes behind Avery Peter of Elkhorn North, who still had four holes to play. She watched as the scores were posted hole by hole and when it was over she stood alone at the top of the leaderboard.
“It was a mix of nervousness and excitement, because I knew that I had a shot at winning state, but I had to keep calm and prep in case I had to go into a playoff,” she said. “The excitement kept building as they got closer.”
Coach Rick Bell credited Messere for playing two solid days of golf on a tough course which featured the fastest greens the girls have seen all season.
“Her putter got pretty hot, though she would tell you she was burning the edges and lipped a couple of putts on Monday,” Bell said. “She drove it well and her irons were pretty sharp, so she kind of put herself in a pretty good position after day one. And then, boy, on day two, she had a couple of bogeys that could have been worse and I was just waiting for her to get that par run going. When she made that birdie on 15 I thought we had a chance, and then when she birdied 18 I knew it was going to be close.”
Messere was joined on the long trip west by junior Delainey Phillips, who made her state tournament debut after finishing sixth at last week’s district meet in Nebraska City. 
Phillips posted a 93 on the first day and carded two birdies on the back nine Tuesday to finish with an 87. She tied for 20th with a two-day total of 180, just four strokes out of the medals.
“I wasn’t nervous the day before, but then getting to the tournament, where they announce your name on the first tee box, I was pretty nervous through like the first five holes,” she admitted. “The first day I really didn’t get in a groove, but the second day I wasn’t thinking as much. I just wanted to improve from the day before and the first nine was really good.”
She wasn’t quite as sharp on the back nine, Phillips admitted, but finished the tournament feeling good about her experience.
“I’m definitely happy with making it to state,” she said. “That was one of my goals. I’m glad I came in 20th, but I would like to improve and hopefully medal next year at state.”
Looking back on how much Phillips has improved over the past year, especially her short game, Bell said he likes her chances of being in the state field next year as well.
“I was very pleased with what she’s done from last year to this year,” he said. “Her putter kind of let her down on Monday, but the greens were really tough. I mean, they were quick. I was glad to see her bounce back on Tuesday when she shot an 87, so she was pretty close to the medal range. She’ll be back there next year.”
Bell concluded by noting that the Lady Huskies had a strong season overall, with several younger golfers getting a taste of competition golf.
“It’s been a good season,” he said. “We really struggled at times to find our number four and five players. With Julia and Delainey shooting what they shot, we probably should have been a little bit lower, but we’ve got some younger girls that I think are going to work at it and get better, so looking forward I think it looks pretty good.”

Teammates
Phillips was also excited to see her teammate do well, and showing her what it takes to take your game to another level.
“Her coming here has definitely made me a better golfer,” she said. “I’m happy for her that she won and she’s definitely made me want to compete more, and to get better.”
Messere had nothing but positive things to say about her debut as a Lady Husky, tipping the hat to her coaches and teammates for welcoming her to the team.
“Coach Bell and Coach Dunn have pushed my game and helped me be such a better golfer,” she said. “They guided me through the season, especially in this new environment, and my teammates were sweethearts. They were my biggest supporters and with Delainey being right on my tail, that helped me strive to do better and better each tournament, knowing that I had competition with her.”
Messere decided to transfer to Aurora for her senior year based on her mother’s experience as a substitute teacher here.
“I transferred here mostly for the welcoming environment in the school,” she said. “My mom works here and she loved it. She subs here, typically in the middle and elementary school, where she loved all the teachers and saw the quality of education. She really wanted me to partake in this environment.”
Now that her high school golf career is in the books, Messere said she plans to focus on her academics, looking forward to studying radiology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln next fall.

Class B State Tournament
Team scores: Omaha Duchesne Academy, 694; Elkhorn North, 695; Gretna East, 715;  Scottsbluff, 730; Norris, 734;  Northwest, 739; Lincoln Pius X, 743; Omaha Skutt Catholic, 746; Bennington, 747; Elkhorn, 759; Gering, 819; Sidney, 819.
Individual medalists: 1. Julia Messere, Aurora, 162; T2. Addison Peck, 164; T2. Ellie Henn, Gretna East, 164; 4. Avery Peter, 165; 5. Annabelle Bang, 167; 6. Hannah Swanson, 168; T7. Maddison Sykes, 170; T7. Martha Mullen, 170; T7. Reese Gloystein, 170; 10. Caylee Mack, 171; 11. Whitney Dahir, 172; 12. Lucille McDevit, Omaha Duchesne, 174; 13. Natalie Shield, Norris, 175; T14. Ashlyn Walz, 176; T14. Hadley Babe, Gretna East, 176.