“We did it, Bullington.” Honnens said. “We won the state championship!”

These were the words senior Elly Honnens spoke to her beloved Lincoln East girls golf coach, Brian Bullington.
Words Honnens has dreamed of saying ever since four years ago, when she approached Coach Bullington and said, ‘I want to help you win a team state championship.’

The Spartans not only won the 2023 state girls golf tournament, but did so in dominating fashion. Lincoln East took home the gold by a whopping 14 strokes, and Honnens, a four time varsity girls golfer and 37-time Spartan medalist, placed fourth at state in Grand Island at the Riverside Golf Club.

“It’s not a surprise to share in Elly’s success,” Bullington said. “She is one of the hardest working athletes I have seen in 42 years of coaching. Elly was always striving for perfection.”

Honnens is the oldest of three, with a younger brother named Carter, a freshman at East, and a four year old sister named Norah. When Elly is not playing golf, she can be found playing the cello, rock climbing, working out, or at church. Honnens first started playing golf when she was three years old, but it was just for fun in the summer. Her competitive golf career only started during Covid, because it was the only sport still going.

“Ever since then I kinda caught the golf bug,” Honnens said. “I have loved it ever since.”

Honnens has committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha to continue her athletic and academic career at the Division One level, and described the recruiting process as “really stressful.”

“The recruiting process is learning how to grow up,” Honnens said. “You have to mentally prepare for college, a whole year and a half before you’re actually going to go there.”

She committed officially in mid-July of 2023, but didn’t announce it until her birthday on August 5th, which she shares with her grandpa, Jerry Christensen. Honnens said her grandpa never missed a high school meet before he passed, and would often golf with her and her brother at Wilderness Ridge.

“He definitely affects the way I think about golf,” Honnens said. “He always told me to check the wind, and now I’m really good at checking the wind.”

In the 2022 state tournament, the Spartans finished runners up to Lincoln Southwest, with Honnens placing second individually.

“Last year, state was not at all what we wanted,” Honnens said. “We weren’t ready to win last year. This year, we made sure we were ready, and had a purpose to our practices to make sure it happened.”

Coach Bullington spoke highly of Honnens’ success and drive for golf, and what she has meant to the program.

“Elly is [the] East Girls Golf program,” Bullington said. “Her consistent play speaks for herself; Elly never missed a meet in four years, she’s one of the top golfers in East history.

Honnens reflects on her time at East as an athlete and a student as something to be proud of.

“Representing the school that I go to and love, and have grown so much in, was really special and a cool experience,” Honnens said. “I couldn’t imagine a better ending to my high school career than winning a state championship.”