Sidney golfers take 2nd at conference tourney

CHADRON – The Sidney High School boys’ golf team shot its best score of the season to finish second at the Western Conference Tournament on Thursday at Ridgeview Country Club.

Sidney fell eight strokes short of winner Scottsbluff as it shot 325 to the Bearcats 317. Chadron (346) finished third with Gering (358) and Alliance (361) finishing fourth and fifth.

The Raiders were led by Ryan Birner with a 79, which placed him second in the individual standings. Jared Pilkington’s 77 earned him the individual conference championship.

Sidney also had three other varsity players to medal. Freshman Connor Dormann carded his best round of the season with an 80 for fifth place. Nate Dvorak finished sixth with an 81 and Brady Radcliffe was ninth at 85. Cole Westfall – playing in his first varsity match – carded an 89.

“After nine holes, we were beating Scottsbluff as a team,” said Raiders head coach Chuck Christensen. “I think we’re on the way to being really good. It’s still a work in progress but I feel very good about this team right now.”

Sidney will host a quad meet on Monday at Hillside Golf Course that will include what has been District B-4’s top team so far this season in McCook.

“I want to see how the guys handle McCook on our home ground,” said Christensen. “I don’t care about the scores so much. I just want to see them compete and learn better how to compete.”

Christensen was especially encouraged that his most consistent players played well despite struggling at certain points in their round. Birner tallied a pair of double bogeys in his final three holes but still broke 80. Radcliffe shot in the mid 40s on one of his nines.

“Brady is capable of shooting in the 30s so it’s just a matter of a few little things we’ll need to work on,” Christensen said.

The Raiders home quad on Monday, originally scheduled to start at noon, has been moved up to 11:15 a.m.

WESTERN CONFERENCE RESULTS

@ Ridgeview County Club, Chadron

(Par 72)

Team Scores

1. Scottsbluff 317

2. Sidney 325

3. Chadron 346

4. Gering 358

5. Alliance 361

Top 10 Individual Scores

1. Jared Pilkington Scottsbluff 77

2. Ryan Birner Sidney 79

3. Koy Pothoff Scottsbluff 79

4. Jonah Wright Scottsbluff 80

5. Connor Dormann Sidney 80

6. Nate Dvorak Sidney 81

7. Bailey Hort Scottsbluff 81

8. Jayden Stack Chadron 83

9. Brady Radcliffe Sidney 85

10. Keenan Johnson Chadron 85

Sidney H.S. Scores

Ryan Birner 79

Connor Dormann 80

Nate Dvorak 81

Brady Radcliffe 85

Cole Westfall 89