The Creighton Prep Golf team is looking to capture its 15th state championship and first since 2021. After coming up short last year in the state championship and falling to rivals Omaha Westside, the team is looking to capitalize on the returning talent they retained. Head coach Matt Rasgorshek has kept Senior Jacob Cosimano and the rest of the team focused on their championship hopes.
“We want to get back and win a state championship. No one on this team has been able to,” Cosimano said.
The team has struggled to get out on the course and compete due to the unpredictable Nebraska weather. Cosimano and the varsity team will tee up Oak Hills Country Club for the Papillion La Vista invitational this Monday. Cosimano says the team is really excited for this invitational due to the fact they get to compete for a winners’ title belt.
“We play for a belt, so we are all kind of looking forward to it,” Cosimano said.
This is the Cosimano’s first year on varsity and he has made great improvements from last season. Cosimano does a good job at playing to his strengths. He knows he can’t always rely on his game off the tee, so he has made drastic improvements to his short game and iron play. Cosimano also believes that the greens will be a place for him to have success.
“I’m not the longest guy off the tee, but I have a pretty good short game. I’m a pretty good iron player, so I can kind of make up for some of that around the green,” Cosimano said.
Coach Rasgorshek has done a great job at helping the team build chemistry as well as the overall level of golf. The team has had plenty of team-dinners and group activities outside of school. Rasgorshek has had them on the course everyday, working on the weak parts of their game specifically. They also take part in an intense practice drill called “mind game” where they practice staying focused on the course when something not ideal or unpredictable occurs. The weight room has also been utilized by the team this offseason, where they primarily focus on strength and mechanics.
“We’re practicing everyday after school, getting out playing 9 holes, and on the weekend focusing on dialing in wherever has been kind of poor on the course,… and we have also been doing some team lifting to get a little longer out there,” Cosimano said.
In the 2023 Nebraska state championship tournament Prep had five golfers in the top fifteen individually. The team returned three of those golfers who are Kingston Solomon (15th), Thomas Kelly (14th), and Connor Steichein (T-6th). The path to great success this season runs through these golfers and consistent play, but also the play of newer varsity golfers such as Cosimano.
“Connor Steichen is a really solid golfer, it really doesn’t seem like he hits a lot of bad shots, and then Tommy Kelly and Kingston Solomon are gonna be another two that are gonna be big for us,” Cosimano said.
This team is more focused than ever. They are ready to compete and have shown that by being good in the classroom and getting other things outside of golf figured out, so they can focus on their game.
“We talk about doing the little things. Talking to teachers, getting grades up, being smart in class, just getting those out of the way so we can go play golf and practice on our game,” Cosimano said.
