The Bellevue East Girls Golf team started their 2024-2025 fall season by scoring a team win at their own Chieftain Invitational Golf meet which was held at Tara Hills Golf Course on September 5, 2024. 

“We are so excited about this year’s team and have enjoyed watching the team improve throughout the season,” Head coach Nicole Burns said. 

In golf, a player’s score is determined by the number of times they hit the ball. Once finished with all 18 holes, the players count up their strokes. The lower the score, the better the golfer does overall. Two of the varsity players medaled in the top ten: sophomore Jazlin Reimer scored an even 100, placing her in 6th place and senior Janessa Mbatia scored a 104, placing her in 8th place. All five varsity players received a medal for having the lowest combined team score with a 426. 

“I was very happy and impressed when we won because last year we were kind of just showing up to play for the meets and now our mindset has changed so now we are winning the meets,” Reimer said. 

The Chieftain Invitational hosted 16 teams, making it one of the largest girls golf meets in the state of Nebraska this year. Bellevue East was able to play the junior varsity along the varsity team. All players of the Bellevue East team were invited to attend the meet, in addition to the team win, which made for a golf-filled day for the team. 

“The girls golf team has been steadily growing the past couple of years, which has allowed us to add a JV schedule for our team. It also allows us to have more depth to our team and continue to have more girls returning year after year to help keep the size of our team up,” Burns said. 

This year the team has 14 members which is more than in years prior. The team has a mix of grade levels which is allows girls who are newer to the sport to learn from returners. The growth in the sport gives the team a more competitive edge at meets, but, as Reimer says, they keep the same small group atmosphere as before.

“The atmosphere is fun, light, we’re not super competitive with each other, I mean we are to a point, but it’s not like there’s any drama in it. It’s super fun,” Reimer said.

Practices are where the girls are able to bond and work on their golf skills. Junior Zoe Caldwell details practices as starting off with putting, hitting at the driving range, and maybe a small competitive drill. The team will then walk over to the driving range and partner up. Lastly, they will do a quick drill that includes either putting or chipping to work on their short game. 

“My favorite part of practice is probably the driving range because everyone just seems in such a great mood. It’s really lighthearted, and everybody gets along really well,” Caldwell said. 

The meets are where the skills developed in practice come into use. Many players prepare for the meets the night before because the team has to leave  early to get to nine o’clock tee times. The team packs up all their gear in the school-issued van and head to the course. It is important to bring gear and lunches because the team is out on the golf course for most of the day.

“I prepare by getting a good night’s rest and packing lots of snacks and water, as well as looking at the weather,” Caldwell said. 

The Girls Golf team is almost halfway through their season. The varsity has 5 more meets before districts and junior varsity has 3 more meets. With the season drawing closer to an end, the team has grown along the way too. 

“Girls golf is a lot of fun, all the girls are so sweet and we have a great time together. We have just enough fun and practice; it evens out nicely,” Caldwell said.