1957 Golf Team – Jere Carey, Charlie Burda, 1959 Golf Team – Coach Bill Inbody, Phil Breitfelder, and Tom Melby Tom Yax, Jere Carey, Jules VanDersarl, and Joe Herrod
Many people may not know that the Catholic High Schools of Lincoln gained statewide notoriety for their golf teams as much as any sport when Pius X first opened its doors. Cathedral High School brought home Class B state championships in golf in 1955 & 1956. Some of those players brought the newly formed Pius X High School its first ever state championship in 1957 by way of Pioneer Golf Course on Friday, May 11, 1957.
The Bill Inbody coached Thunderbolts defeated Omaha Holy Name by nine strokes with a team total of 252. Phil Breitfelder, who won the individual gold medal on the 1956 state championship team, shot an 82 on a rain soaked course to tie for first place. Teammates Charles Burda (83) and Tom Melby (87) rounded out the composite scoring for Pius X with sophomore Jere Carey also competing. The Carey led team would finish 2nd place in the 1958 state tournament.
1959 brought another state championship to Pius X, completing a run of four state golf championships over five years. This time senior Jere Carey would win the individual title at Pioneers Golf Club with a score of 78. The team’s score of 257 defeated Ord by seven strokes. Sophomore Jules VanDersarl (86), senior Tom Yax (93) and junior Joe Herrod (93) rounded out the scoring for Pius X. This title would be the last championship won by Pius X for nearly 15 years, but these first two championships set the bar for the next 60 years of athletic tradition and excellence, culminating in over 130 state championship games and over 70 state championship trophies currently present in the halls of Pius X High School.
Jules VanDersarl – Class of 1961: “It was an honor playing with the fellows on our team and our golf coach, Bill Inbody, was a wonderful man devoted to Pius X kids. We played together as a cohesive group against the toughest competition in the state, and then enjoyed nothing more than beating each other in head-to-head competition at home.”
