Petik takes second at Best of the West

Sidney senior golfer Rachel Petik carded an 88 to lead a group of six Raiders qualifiers at the Best of the West Tournament at Gering's Monument Shadows Golf Course on Wednesday.

Petik's score was good enough to earn her second place in what amounts to an area all-star event. Only players that have broken 100 in competition were eligible. The Raiders led all schools in qualifiers with six. Gering was also well represented with four golfers in attendance.

Absent from the event were eligible players from the the talented Scottsbluff Bearcats team.

Gering's Sam Rahmig took top honors with an 83 while playing with Petik. Other Raiders finishers included seniors Karson Langley (101), Jessica Campbell (101) and Katelin Cole (103). Junior Theda Parker's front-nine struggles led her to a 115 though she rebounded on the backside with a 53.

The morning started out sunny but cool for their tee times beginning at 9 a.m. Most players were bundled up against the weather before temperatures rose. All went off the first tee in groups of three and four.

Beyond the cool weather, an additional challenge was a longer golf course. Rather than play from the red tees as they normally do, the west's best were backed up to the white tees. The change in tee box added an extra 716 yards to the course they played just two weeks ago at the Gering Invite.

"Today was just about having fun," Petik said. "As for the different tees it wasn't much different. Sometimes you would have to pull a different club for your second shot but that's all."

After just two holes, Sidney sophomore Rachel Blauert's day was over. She was informed that since she has already played in nine tournaments this season, she would not be eligible for districts if she competed here.

"It's an NSAA rule. We were told that Rachel could play, she just couldn't turn in a score," said Rachel's mother Lydia Blauert. "We decided it was best for her not to play at all so there would be no doubt that we followed the rules."

Lydia Blauert was acting as coach in the absence of Jody O'Connell, who had obligations in Sidney. Lydia Blauert conferred with O'Connell by phone and the decision was made. Rachel Blauert spent the rest of the day supporting her teammates from the comfort of a golf cart.

Blauert ended up playing in more matches than her teammates because she competed in both varsity and junior varsity matches.

With the regular season over, the Raiders attention turns now to the district tournament. Districts are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at the Skyview Golf Course in Alliance. The Sidney team played there just last Saturday, where they struggled against adverse conditions.

"I'm ready for districts, I just have that feeling," said Langley. "Before then I'm just going to be working on being confident and keeping a level head."

Petik will be working on more mechanical issues.

"I'm going to be working on my alignment and putting," she said.

One of the goals the Raiders have had since the start of the season has been to make state as a team. The team must finish in the top three to qualify. Individuals can earn a spot at state with a top-15 finish.

"We definitely want to go as a team," Langley said. "But at the end of the day if we all take care of our own business team success will come."

The tee times for districts were released on Wednesday. Players will go off in threesomes and foursomes from the first and tenth tees beginning at 9:30 a.m. All the Raiders will go off the first tee in consecutive groups. Cole leads it off at 9:30 followed by Blauert (9:40), Campbell (9:50), Langley (10:00) and Petik (10:10).