The Jock Strap

Hello one, hello all. "The Bruce" is back, and it's time to give credit where credit is due. As of Thursday's (5/1) tie-breaker victory over Ames in the Ottumwa Invitational at Ottumwa Country Club, the OHS girls golf team has won 20 consecutive matches, dating back to an undefeated state championship run in 2007.

20 straight? That's right, 20 straight! My mission today is to make sure that anyone reading this post has a firm grasp on how amazing that winning streak really is.

Ottumwa competes at the highest level in the state of Iowa, Class 4A high school athletics. Therefore, it's not as though the Bulldogs are marching through the "Little Sisters of the Poor" or "Fox Valley" (as my friend Coach Stan Rupe would say). No, in actuality, OHS is consistently beating the best that the state has to offer. We're talking all sorts of teams from around the Hawkeye State, including the Des Moines metro area. Already, this season, the Bulldogs have taken down two state title hopefuls in Ankeny and Ames. To win 20 straight matches against this kind of competition is simply remarkable. And, keep in mind, Ottumwa went undefeated in 2007 to begin the winning streak that is still alive as of the time this post is written.

Another way to put this in perspective is to compare the streak to other sports at the high school. Imagine if Tom Kopatich's Bulldogs, who always had tons of success, had ever won 20 games in-a-row. That would be at least one undefeated state championship season and most of another. As fired up as folks in southeast Iowa are every fall about Bulldog football, this sort of streak would have been the talk of the town for months if not years, no question.

What if Stan Rupe's OHS girls basketball squad or Mike Holmes' OHS boys basketball team had ripped off 20 straight victories last season. Again, if that was the case, you're most-likely looking at a state championship run and one of the best 4A teams assembled around the state in the last 5 to 10 years. In 2003-2004, the OHS boys basketball team, led by Holmes, advanced to the Class 4A Final Four. The team had an incredible season and stirred excitement around Ottumwa unlike anything seen for a long, long while. But, consider this: The team's final record included 19 wins. Of course, that is a phenomenal win total. But, in the case of the OHS girls golf squad, we're talking about 20 wins, in-a-row. Wow.

The level of play of Betsy Anderson, Katie Maher, Hailey Sheldahl, Paige Wetrich, Sarah Paulson, and Kristin Paulson is something unmatched in OHS history. On top of this talented group of players, OHS girls golf is led by one of the up-and-coming young coaches in the state, Dusty Stewart. What has Stewart done recently? Oh, well, nothing more than be named the 2007 Class 4A Coach of the Year.

I'm going to go way out on a limb here. I know, I know. Right now you're saying, "Geez, Brian, how can you afford to be such a risk-taker?" Well, anyway, my prediction is that the 2008 OHS girls golf squad runs the table again this year, and in doing so earns its second consecutive Class 4A state championship.

So, do yourself a favor. Take a look at the OHS spring sports schedule, match up some free time with an OHS girls golf meet, and go enjoy yourself. You'll not only see some great golf being played, you'll see the high school's sports record book being rewritten.