Senior Carina Hernandez made history this season as the first girls’ golfer from Central to qualify for the state tournament since 2019.
Competing in a two-day tournament, Hernandez represented Central at the NSAA Class A tournament, held at Riverside Golf Club in Grand Island, Nebraska. She qualified in the “Individual Differential” category, with a score of 31.23. She was seeded sixth out of eight in this category.
Not only was she the single representative of Central, but she was one of just two golfers to represent Omaha Public Schools. The other was Faith Koranda of Westview High School.
At the Riverside golf course, Hernandez played 18 competitive holes, through tree-lined fairways, and manicured greens “that challenge amateur and professional golfers alike,” according to the golf club.
Facing a new course, and a high competition field, Hernandez finished 58th out of 75 golfers in the state competition.
For Hernandez, the state tournament was a combination of excitement, nerves, and a chance to compete against the best girls’ golfers in Nebraska. The morning of her first day, she was overcome with pride and pressure. She wanted to compete well and be a good representative of the Central golf program.
After stepping onto the green, Hernandez recalls, “the realization hit that it was me as the single representative.”
State qualification was the culmination of hundreds of hours at driving ranges, clinics, Central practices, and high school tournaments. Over the course of her high school career, Hernandez devoted off-seasons to improving the mechanics of her swing, distance of the ball off the tee and putting.
“It was really the work she put in for herself,” Coach Brent Larson said. “And it wasn’t just this year, she has had a strong work ethic for all four years at Central.”
She entered her senior year telling herself, “I want to go to state. I got to go to state. I’ll do whatever it takes,” which motivated her to work harder. It was that mental push, and the assistance of coaches Larson and Assistant Coach Hannah Monson, that helped her achieve a four-year goal.
Hernandez’s golf career began alongside her father. He was considered the golfer of the family and encouraged Carina to join him as he played simple par-3 courses.
Then, the summer before her freshman year, she enrolled in the PGA Jr. League, which offers clinics to young golfers across Omaha.
In the beginning she was frustrated, and annoyed, as advanced golf skills would take more practice than she had previously thought. However, she enjoyed that the sport was individualized.
“You do better for yourself,” Hernandez said.
As high school tryouts approached Hernandez had developed focus and determination, qualities that would define her high school career.
Throughout the 2024 season, Hernandez recorded three second-place finishes at the Central-Westview dual, the Bryan High Invitational, and the Lincoln Northeast Invitational.
