By Terry Douglass
terry.douglass@theindependent.com

The Islanders' No. 1 and No. 2 squads placed sixth and seventh, respectively, against a strong field of Class A competition at Jackrabbit Run Golf Course. Grand Island had a medalist from each team as freshman Alec Anania placed fifth with a 1-over-par 73 for the No. 1 team and junior Logan Almond placed 10th with a 75 for the No. 2 team.

At this early stage in the season, Grand Island coach Scott Fox said intrasquad competition remains fierce for spots in the starting lineup. For that reason, Fox said there was no varsity or junior varsity distinction placed on the Islander teams.

"It's tough for us to say who's really on varsity because we have the luxury of having some depth this year," Fox said. "I'm pleased. Top to bottom, they came out, followed the plan and posted some respectable scores."

Norfolk shot 300, but had to defeat Lincoln East in a playoff to win the team race. Lincoln Southeast finished a close third at 301, while Lincoln Southwest was fourth (305) and Omaha Creighton Prep was fifth (307).

Lucas Hines of Lincoln East fired a 2-under par 70 to take medalist honors. Scott Bruening of Norfolk also broke par, finishing second with a 71.

Considering the competition, the Islanders said they were thrilled with their upper-division finish.

"We've improved a lot every year and it's just nice to be able to compete with some of the top schools in the state," Almond said. "We're getting there and doing a good job. We can shoot even better than we have, so we're excited about what we can do in the future."

Anania agreed.

"It's a lot of fun, playing on this team," Anania said. "We have a lot of good players and every meet, all five guys are capable of getting a medal. That's nice."

Fox said he's been impressed with how the Islanders have competed not only in meets, but also in practices.

"The greatest thing about this group of guys is that they appreciate what we have as a group and what that does for a practice, having the pressure to perform," Fox said. "When you tee it up in practice this year and the round counts, there's as much pressure as there is in a meet.

"They've handled it really well. They've been supportive of each other and there haven't been any bad feelings when a kid comes out, outperforms someone and knocks them out for a spot in a meet. They've been very mature about that."

Anania overcame a slow start to record his best career finish.

"It's really exciting, actually," Anania said. "I started out with two bogeys, but everything got a lot better from there and my putting got a lot better from there, so that was good."

Almond said he was pleased to medal after a disappointing performance in his last outing.

"It was good to just get some confidence back," Almond said. "My round today was pretty boring. I left a few shots out there and it was mostly just pars, but that was good."

Fox said both Grand Island medal winners played extremely well.

"Logan can go low any time he's just that kind of player," Fox said. "Alec, I think gained some confidence winning his playoff out at North Platte and came out here and just got it going today. That's very encouraging."

Grand Island Invitational

At Jackrabbit Run G.C.

Team Standings

x-won playoff

x-Norfolk 300, Lincoln East 300, Lincoln Southeast 301, Lincoln Southwest 305, Omaha Creighton Prep 307, Grand Island I 310, Grand Island II 318, Lincoln North Star 319, Kearney 324, Columbus 325, North Platte 327, Hastings 336, Omaha Westside 342, Lincoln Northeast 361, Lincoln High 444.

Individual Medalists

1, Lucas Hines, Lincoln East, 70. 2, Scott Bruening, Norfolk, 71. 3, Austin Zimmerman, Lincoln Southwest, 72. 4, Jeff Rosno, Lincoln Southeast, 73. 5, Alec Anania, Grand Island, 73. 6, Tyler Erwin, Norfolk, 73. 7, Will Peeper, Omaha Creighton Prep, 74. 8, Travis Johnson, Lincoln Southeast, 74. 9, Mark Stovie, Omaha Creighton Prep, 74. 10, Logan Almond, Grand Island, 75. 11, Taylor Price, Lincoln Southeast, 75. 12, Grant Davis, Kearney, 76. 13, Justin Stonacek, Lincoln Southwest, 76. 14, John Tatum, Lincoln North Star 76. 15, Taylor Stewart, Lincoln East, 76.

Grand Island I (310)

Seth Rhodes 77, Ryan McCarty 80, Gavin Brown 80, Alec Anania 73, Lance Kush 80.

Grand Island II (318)

Logan Almond 75, Joel Mostek 82, Lucas Elsbernd 82, Ryan Harris 79, Daylan Fargo 87.