Record breaking programs Omaha Marian, Omaha Duchesne and Minden add to storied school histories with 2025 titles.
By Tony Chapman and Terry Douglass
For the Nebraska School Activities Association
If golf is a game of history and tradition, then Omaha Marian, Omaha Duchesne and Minden are holding up their end of the bargain in Nebraska girls golf. The three schools each added to their historic list of state championships on Tuesday as they were the first team champions crowned for the 2025-26 school year.
The trio now has a combined 27 state championships as Marian tied Lincoln Southeast with a state record 13th state title, while Duchesne and Minden each added a 12th state championship to their trophy case.
Individual champions were Molly Goc (Columbus, Class A), Julia Messere (Aurora, Class B) and Kaylynn Jorgensen (Minden, Class C)
CLASS A: Marian dominates, Goc earns first state medal in style
Molly Goc’s first state medal was a golden one.
The Columbus senior followed her first-round 74 with a 3-over-par 75 to win medalist honors by one stroke Tuesday in the NSAA Class A Girls Golf Championships at soggy Riverside Golf Club. Goc had a birdie on the par-3 14th against two bogeys and a double.
“I feel like it hasn’t really set in yet, but it feels amazing to finally be able to not only place at state, but to win,” said Goc, a Wayne State golf commit. “I put in a lot of work, practicing almost every day. It was great to see it pay off.”
Playing in her fourth state tournament, Goc’s previous best showing was tied for 22nd as a sophomore in 2023. She was 24th last season and finished 29th as a freshman in 2022.
However, a solid senior season and winning her district meet had Goc feeling optimistic about state.
“This time around, I just tried to be confident,” Goc said. “I knew it was my last time, so I figured I might as well enjoy it and swing away. I felt like if I could just be myself, good things would happen.”
Rain and damp conditions challenged the players throughout the second round. However, Goc was even par through 14 holes.
“We had played in this type of weather during districts and I handled it pretty well,” Goc said. “I just came in with the same approach: There’s nothing you can do about it — everyone’s playing in it — so you just have to fight through and keep playing your game.”
Lincoln Southwest freshman Naryn Kim finished second at 6-over 150. Teammate Eden Larson, who was bidding for her third consecutive individual state title, ended third at 7-over 151.
Despite making a double-bogey on the par-5 18th, Goc posted her 36-hole total of 149 and was in the clubhouse with Kim and Larson still on the course.
“I didn’t look at the scoring at all while I was playing,” Goc said. “Afterwards, I looked at it and I just knew that both (Kim and Larson) had a lot of golf left to play and anything could happen. I just focused on myself. I went back to the range and tried to be ready if there was a playoff.”
No playoff was necessary. Needing birdies at the 18th hole to catch Goc, both Kim and Larson had to settle for pars.
There was considerably less drama in the team race. Omaha Marian captured its second consecutive Class A state title, shooting 636 to outdistance second-place Omaha Westside by 33 shots.
“It means a lot to us,” Marian coach Robert Davis said. “We’re a smaller all-girls school and we compete with schools that are a lot bigger than us. We work really hard at it. They’re all student-athletes with a lot going on in their lives and it’s really impressive that they can play golf so well.”
Lucy Peterson led Marian, tying for fifth place at 158. Teammates Lauren Murnan and Delaney Schmitz tied for seventh (159), Leah Wisdom tied for 10th (160) and Sloan Mackintosh tied for 12th (162).
Davis said Marian’s depth was obviously the key. All five players earned medals by finishing inside the top 15.
“Any one of them could be our leading scorer on any given day, so we’re not really just counting on a couple of gunners at the top to do well,” Davis said. “We just put together good rounds where everybody shoots about 80 and that was good enough to get it done.”
- Terry Douglass
🏆 The Omaha Marian Crusaders are the 2025 Nebraska Class A Girls State Golf Champions! #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/cSslX4I6X6
— NSAA (@nsaahome) October 15, 2025
CLASS B: More high drama as Duchesne edges Elkhorn North again
Omaha Duchesne did it again.
After edging Elkhorn North by a single shot at Monument Shadows in Gering for last year’s title, the Cardinals again clipped the Wolves by a shot for another Class B team championship.
Like last year, Duchesne did it in come from behind fashion as they slowly chipped away at the Wolves seven shot overnight lead. Trailing by three shots to the final nine, the Cardinals pieced together a 24-over par score of 168 on the final nine while EN had a 172.
“Golf is certainly an individual sport, but I can’t stress enough how valuable it is to have a team,” said Duchesne coach Jeff Nielsen. “Just the fight our whole team had (Monday) and the will of all of those girls to do it for their teammates even if their personal day wasn’t the best.”
Despite trailing after day one, Duchesne’s depth was on full display on Monday as their throw away score was an 89. And, on Tuesday they had counting back nine scores of 40, 42, 43 and 43 with the Wolves going 39, 40, 44 and 49.
“It was a hard golf course, but a really good golf course,” Nielsen said. “And sometimes it’s easy for somebody to quit and say you know what I am having a bad hole, but we had a group that put that aside and knew that every shot counted.
“Every single shot.”
Aurora’s Julia Messere was the individual champion after shooting rounds of 82 and 80 to earn medalist honors. Her second day 80 tied for the low round of the day. The Husky, who was fourth in Class C for Grand Island Central Catholic last year, edged Addison Peck of the hometown Bearcats and Gretna East junior Ellie Henn for the title. Henn shared low round honors on Tuesday with Messere.
It was the fourth straight state title — and eighth since 2015 — for the Cardinals who now have a class record 12 titles in school history. It was also the eighth for Nielsen, in his 19th year at Duchesne.
Seniors Martha Mullen and defending champion Whitney Dahir paced the Cardinals. Mullen finished tied for 7th after a second day 82 (170) and Dahir had matching 86’s to place 11th. Sophomore Lucille McDivitt was 12th. Dahir was on each of the Cardinals past four title teams and Mullen on three.
“Those two have been the glue of our team,” Nielsen said.
The Wolves also had three medalists — Avery Peter, Reese Gloystein and Carlee Mack — who finished 4th, 7th and 10th, respectively.
🏆 The Omaha Duchesne Cardinals are the 2025 Nebraska Class B Girls State Golf Champions! #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/okv0Jq8oCH
— NSAA (@nsaahome) October 15, 2025
CLASS C: Whippets Dominate in North Platte
Minden’s team effort at the Class C girls state tournament was too much for the field at North Platte’s Lake Maloney Golf Club.
After losing by a single shot to Wayne last year, Minden built a 34-shot lead on day one with a 328 and then followed it up with a 321 on Tuesday for a 63-shot win over Scotus Central Catholic. The 649 two-day total is the lowest non-Class A team score in state tournament history.
It left coach Whitney Maulsby speechless.
“All year we have been so focused on taking one shot at a time,” Maulsby said. “And these two days we were just locked in on that. We didn’t even worry about our score or anything.
“And then when it all added up at the end we were just floored.”
Whippet senior Kaylynn Jorgensen, who this summer won the Nebraska Girls Match Play, capped one of the great prep golf careers with an elusive state title. Her 1-under par (143) total was good for an 11-shot win over freshman sister, Macy.
The elder Jorgensen put the tournament on ice early Tuesday. Sitting on a 4-shot lead, she played the first eight holes in 5-under par eventually settling for a 3-under 69; just the 7th score under 70 in state tournament history.
“I don’t get to watch Kaylynn much,” Maulsby joked of the South Dakota commit. “She’s a talented player and she can do her own thing, but I got to see her a little bit today and she was ready to go. She played so well.”
Minden added a sixth place finish from senior Shelby Nelson but Maulsby was also quick to credit seniors Lauren Starkey and Isabelle Martin who each added the fourth team score that has been key to Whippets success this season.
Starkey carded a 94 on Monday while Martin’s Tuesday 97 was part of the record setting 321.
“About halfway through the round (on Tuesday), I started getting greedy,” Maulsby said of Martin’s round that edged Starkey by a single shot. “This is such a team game and you really need that fourth score each time out. It was a perfect ending for them.”
H&H’s Mia Hiebner was third after a runner-up finish last year, West Holt’s Delani Knust fourth and Adams Central’s Peyton Hartman fifth. All of the top-eight players broke 80 on day two.
🏆 The Minden Whippets are the 2025 Nebraska Class C Girls State Golf Champions! #nebpreps pic.twitter.com/aYoyQukQr0
— NSAA (@nsaahome) October 15, 2025
Tony Chapman is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He has written for multiple Nebraska daily and weekly newspapers. His weekly Harvest Sports Newsletter covers a wide variety of Nebraska prep sports.
Terry Douglass is a freelance writer based in Grand Island. He is the former sports editor for The Grand Island Independent.