JEFF FIELDER Editor
GERING – Ali Boswell, a senior at Gering High School, is this week’s Nspire Today! Female Athlete of the Week, sponsored by Kristy Culek Agency, LLC-American Family Insurance. Boswell, one of the top golfers in Class B, earned a 14th-place finish with an 87 last week in the Gering girls golf team’s season-opening invite at Papillion. Boswell’s performance helped the Bulldogs register a top-five finish with a 347 in a tournament that included several Class A schools. Gering’s next tournament is Tuesday at Sidney. Last year, Gering won the district title and placed second at state. Ali’s parents are John and Jessica Boswell.
Q: How do you feel you performed in the first tournament of the season?
BOSWELL: “I actually wasn’t real pleased because I felt like I could have played a lot better. I wanted my score to be lower.”
Q: How much fun was it to travel across the state to compete in the first tournament.
BOSWELL: “It was a lot of fun to travel with my team. As far as the tournament, it was cool to be able to play with girls that I had never played with before. They were very competitive. It was also fun to be able to play against Omaha Duchesne [which won the Class B state title last year]. It was good for us to see what we need to do to improve to be able to compete against them later this season.”
Q: What was the course like in Papillion?
BOSWELL: “It had just gotten a lot of rain the day before, so it was really wet. It was harder for us to play on that course because it was so wet and the ball wasn’t going as far.”
Q: Going into the tournament, what were you hoping to achieve?
BOSWELL: “I wasn’t sure what the course would be like, but I was hoping to be in the low 80s, if not the high 70s.”
Q: What was it like to play against schools, especially Class A schools, that you don’t normally compete against?
BOSWELL: “It was a challenge against the Class A schools because they had played that course before so they knew what they needed to do. But it was still fun to play in that tournament to see different players and teams.”
Q: How did you feel Gering played as a team?
BOSWELL: “Our score didn’t look too bad [347], but as a team we didn’t play up to our full potential.”
Q: As a team, what is Gering hoping to accomplish this season?
BOSWELL: “Well, we don’t ever want to be higher than 350. We would like to break our record from last year [325].”
Q: Does Gering have the potential to equal or maybe even surpass what it achieved last season when it placed first at districts and second at state?
BOSWELL: “Yes. The Omaha Duchesne team that we just competed against was the team that beat us last year [at state], and they only beat us in Papillion by eight strokes. And that was a bad day for us, so if all of us can knock off at least two strokes, that’s 10 strokes right there.”
Q: How much fun is it being part of this year’s team?
BOSWELL: “Being part of this team is a lot of fun. Last year we had Megan [Maser] on our team, and it was really fun having her on our team, but we’re still close this year, and we still have a lot of fun together. We’re friends even outside of golf – we like to hang out together – so that makes our relationship on the team even stronger.”
Q: Who’s the most jokative person on the team?
BOSWELL: “That would have to be me.” [laughs]
Q: What are your personal goals this season?
BOSWELL: “I would like to be in the top five at most of the tournaments we compete in. I hope to improve throughout the season.”
Q: What is your career-best score?
BOSWELL: “I shot a 69 in the Gering Open this year.”
Q: What do you hope to average this year?
BOSWELL: “Mid-70s.”
Q: Being a senior, does this season feel any different to you compared to previous seasons?
BOSWELL: “It feels different because I know it’s my last one for high school. It’s hard to believe that it’s my last one. It’s not any different pressure-wise, but just knowing it’s my last golf season in high school makes it feel different.”
Q: This season, though, won’t be your last season of playing golf since you’re going to play golf at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. How excited are you for your collegiate career at Tyler?
BOSWELL: “When I first started talking to the coach there, I wasn’t expecting things to go as well as they did because my scores last year weren’t the best and I wasn’t sure if I would be good enough to fit into their program. But when I went down there to talk to the coach, he enjoyed talking to me about golf, so my excitement grew from there. I knew I belonged there. Once he told me that he would love to have me on his team, I was very excited because I realized that, ‘Wow, this is really happening. I’m going to have a chance to play college golf.’”
Q: Tyler Junior College is a familiar college to your family.
BOSWELL: “Yes, that’s where my mom played college golf, and my dad went to school there, too. They talked very highly about the school, and my mom also loved the golf program there. Hearing them talk so highly of that school made me want to go there, too. And then when I went there to visit the school, that made it even ten times better.”
Q: What do you plan to pursue major-wise in college?
BOSWELL: “I’m not exactly sure yet, but I would like to do something in the medical field.”
Q: Which class are you most looking forward to taking this school year?
BOSWELL: “Probably my EMT class.”
Q: During your educational career, which teacher has made the biggest influence on you?
BOSWELL: “I would have to say Mrs. [Pearl] Johnson. She teaches biology and physics I and II at the high school. She’s the leader of our HOSA club, too. I’ve had her my sophomore, junior and senior years. She got me interested in going into the medical field.”
Q: Have you gone to school in Gering your whole life?
BOSWELL: “No, I moved here and started going to school here my sixth-grade year.”
Q: How much have you enjoyed going to school and being part of the Gering community?
BOSWELL: “I don’t think I would be the person I am today if I hadn’t moved here. Going to school here and being in the Gering community have helped me grow as a person.”
Q: What do you like to do for fun outside of school and when you’re not golfing?
BOSWELL: “That’s a good question because I’m always golfing. I golf all the time.”
Q: What other activities are you involved in at school?
BOSWELL: “FCA and HOSA.”
If you would like to nominate someone for Nspire Today!’s Athletes of the Week, sponsored by Kristy Culek Agency, you may do so by sending an email to jeff.fielder@nspiretoday.com or by mailing a letter to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363. Nominations may also be submitted by sending a text to 308-220-8865.
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