The Kosciusko golf team finished just one hole short of sending a player to the state tournament, but if this year's success is any barometer for the future, the Whippets should feel confident heading into next season.
Rising senior Jacob Gibson tied as a medalist in the team's region tournament, sending him and his opponent into a one-hole tiebreaker. Gibson lost the tiebreaker by one stroke.
"He tied with a 79 and lost the playoff hole," Kosciusko Coach Logan Cheek said.
Kosciusko fielded a youthful team this season, but one of its bright spots was the play of seventh-grader Jeremy Gibson, Jacob Gibson's cousin. Jeremy Gibson entered this season with just a summer of golf experience, but he emerged as a consistent contributor for the Whippets.
"Expectations were substantially low, but he beat all of those expectations out of the water," Cheek said. "He improved his stroke dramatically throughout the season. I think the best he ever shot was a 93, which is impressive because — as a seventh-grader — it's a huge transition from playing with your family on a golf course to competitively walking 18 holes and keeping up with other players' holes.”
“If it weren't for him and his success, there wouldn't have been a team — simple as that,” said Cheek. “He was my fourth, and that was all I had. I didn't have a fifth player. It was phenomenal what he was able to to do."
Kosciusko celebrated the accomplishments of its golfers at the annual year-end sports banquet.
Top medalist went to Jacob Gibson, who averaged just over 79 for the season. Runner-up medalist went to Jett Crosby, who averaged 80 for the season. The team's most improved award went to Carter Jones, and Jeremy Gibson was named rookie of the year.
