CEDAR FALLS — The Iowa boys high school golf season has officially concluded with the Class 3A, 2A and 1A state championships taking place all in Eastern Iowa on May 27 and 28.
Waverly-Shell Rock (Class 3A), Columbus Catholic (Class 2A) and Boyden-Hull (Class 1A) secured team state championships, while Nevada sophomore Parker Rodgers (Class 3A), West Marshall junior Hunter Polley (Class 2A) and Hamburg junior Keith Thompson (Class 1A) claimed individual titles in their respective classes.
Here is how each class unfolded from May 27-28:
Class 3A: Waverly-Shell Rock golf wins first state championship
As the scores were tallied up at the Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls, the entire field of golfers huddled around the scoreboard. As the ink dried on each of the team’s scorecards, it was quick to see that Waverly-Shell Rock and MOC-Floyd Valley were all tied up with 588 strokes, a +12 score for each team.
The tiebreaker started with the fifth-best scorer on each team from day two, followed by the sixth-best scorer on each team on day two. Waverly-Shell Rock’s fifth and sixth best players on the day, sophomore Tate Lalk and senior Hudson Kroymann, each shot 77. MOC-Floyd Valley’s fifth-best player on the day also shot a 77, taking the tiebreaker to the team’s sixth-lowest scorer on the day. The Dutchman could not match the Go-Hawks’ depth, with their sixth-best scoring player shooting an 82 to give Waverly-Shell Rock the title.
As the scorekeepers wrote “1st place” on the Go-Hawks scorecard, tears streamed down the faces of the players and their families, who had just clinched the program’s first team golf title.
“We always say, ‘Every stroke matters,'” Waverly-Shell Rock coach Austin Cole said. “I don’t think that’s any more true than it is today.”
What ultimately separated Waverly-Shell Rock from a tough field of opponents was their depth, with only one individual score over 80 strokes between the six players and 12 total rounds. Cole credited his team’s four seniors, who remained consistent throughout the two days despite the wet conditions and tough mental nature of the sport.
“They deserve this,” Cole said. “I can’t even put into words what I feel for them. They wanted this really, really bad.”
Finishing behind Waverly-Shell Rock was MOC-Floyd Valley, followed by Gilbert in third at 596 strokes and Independence in fourth with 597 strokes.
Individually, Nevada sophomore Parker Rodgers came through for a state title, shooting five-under par on day one and two-under par on day two for a -7 score and 137 total strokes. He was one stroke better than second-placed Gilbert senior Ryan Lynch, who had 138 total strokes across two days.
Rodgers finished about 20 to 30 minutes before Lynch ended his day, meaning he had to wait anxiously to see if he had won. In that time, he hit the putting green and continued working on his game. While he looked calm, he said the time he had to wait felt like an entire day.
Ultimately, Rodgers’ score was enough, and a dream was fulfilled.
“Little me would be so happy,” Rodgers said.
Full results from Class 3A can be found on iowapgajr.bluegolf.com.
Class 2A: Strong day two from Columbus Catholic seals state title
After a strong day one for Columbus Catholic landed the team in first place, the Sailors did even better on day two to claim a state championship. It’s the program’s ninth team state title and the first since 2019.
Columbus Catholic concluded day one in 302 strokes, followed by a four-shot improvement on day two with 298 for a grand total of 600 strokes and a +24 score. That was 14 strokes better than second-placed Grundy Center (+28), followed by Aplington-Parkersburg in third (+60) and PCM in fourth (+63)
Individually, West Marshall junior Hunter Polley won the Class 2A individual state title. He was the lone golfer to finish under par in the event at Gates Park Golf Course in Waterloo, shooting a -4. Behind him was a three-way tie for second between Rock Valley sophomore Trey Swanson, Columbus Catholic senior Drew Lindsay and Grundy Center junior Judd Jirovsky, who shot even par.
Full results from Class 2A can be found on iowapgajr.bluegolf.com.
Class 1A: Boyden-Hull cruises to back-to-back state titles
For the second year in a row, Boyden-Hull left no doubt in the final result.
The Comets won the Class 1A state title at South Hills Gold Course in Waterloo by 20 strokes, with a +42 and 618 total strokes. It’s the program’s second state title all-time after winning its first last season. South Winneshiek finished in second with 638 strokes (+62), followed by Woodbine in third with 656 strokes (+80) and Hillcrest Academy in fourth with 668 strokes (+92).
Individually, Hamburg junior Keith Thompson’s strong day two powered him to a state title. Thompson sat in second with a score of 74 strokes after the first day of action, but he rallied to win the title with a score of 71 strokes on day two, putting his final tally at one stroke over par. Hillcrest Academy senior Liam Schrock narrowly took second (+2), followed closely by Boyden-Hull junior Jackson Keizer (+3).
Full results from Class 1A can be found on iowapgajr.bluegolf.com.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa boys spring golf championships roundup: Waverly-Shell Rock wins first team state title
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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