Kennedy Boys Golf

Bell, Carlson, Hayden pick their colleges

Three premier athletes from Metro high schools have made their college commitments.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Cody Bell has decided to play golf at the University of Northern Iowa, ending a tug-of-war for his own emotions between golf and baseball.

Cedar Rapids Prairie senior Brayton Carlson has committed to play baseball at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington and Kennedy senior Alex Hayden has committed to play baseball at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge.

Bell tied for sixth at the Class 4A state golf meet this year and placed fourth last year as a junior. He's also a top baseball player at Kennedy and had an offer to play baseball at Loras College.

Bell decided Wednesday to play golf at UNI. "I just feel that I'll be more successful playing golf in college as opposed to baseball," he said.

Bell is a year-round athlete at Kennedy with golf, basketball and baseball. He's looking forward to concentrating on golf at Northern Iowa.

"It will be something new," he said. "I'm hoping it really helps. I think with all the work I'm going to be able to put in and all the time, I think it will be a big step for my golf career."

Bell plans to study business and finance at UNI.

Carlson will be joining his older brother, Dustin, on the Southeastern Community College baseball team. Dustin Carlson is a freshman relief pitcher at SCC.

Brayton Carlson hit .429 with eight homers and 36 RBIs for Prairie last season. He made second team all-state as a second baseman.

Southeastern Community College Coach Justin Schulte, formerly the head coach at Mount Mercy University, has attracted several Metro baseball players to his program. Terrell Sykes (Kennedy), David Yancey (Kennedy), Colby Brecht (Xavier) and Alex Ries (Xavier) are freshmen at SCC this year.

"I know a lot of guys on the team and Coach Schulte seems like a really good coach," Carlson said.

Griffin Michael (Kennedy) and Anthony Gagliardi (Prairie) began the school year at Southeastern Community College but will not play for the Blackhawks. Gagliardi has transferred to Indian Hills Community College.

Hayden compiled an 8-1 record with a 3.22 ERA at Kennedy last season as a junior, helping the Cougars reach the Class 4A state tournament. He's also a middle infielder and will be given a chance to be a two-way player at Iowa Central.

"They said they're open to me playing the field," he said. "They're leaving that up to me, and I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do with that."

Bell, Carlson and Hayden all said they're glad to have made their college decisions. "A lot of stress is relieved now," said Hayden, who had offers from at least four other schools in Iowa.

Brigham Stewart will join golf team at Butler

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Brigham Stewart has decided to join the men's golf program at Butler University next year.

Stewart helped the Cougars finish fourth in the Class 4A state meet this season. He also helped Kennedy win the Mississippi Valley Conference title and the CRANDIC championship.

Stewart won the MVC Super Meet title with an 8-under-par 64 at Twin Pines and earned medalist honors at the Johnston Invitational with a 1-under-par 71.

'Good run' ends with 4th place finish

IOWA CITY – The six seniors on the Kennedy boys golf team were hoping to close their stellar high school careers with a state championship but settled for a fourth-place finish Saturday in the Class 4A meet at the Finkbine Golf Course.

“I don’t want to use the word disappointed, because that doesn’t sound right for this group of kids,” said Cougar Coach Mark Wilden.  “Still, I know they would have liked to have done better than fourth.

“But they finished in the top four in the state four years in a row. That’s not bad. They’ve had a good run.”

Their season-long pacesetter, Cody Bell, started the second day of the tournament tied for 11th place after an opening-round 79 but came back Saturday with a 75 to tie for sixth.  He placed fourth in the state last year.

“I drove the ball a lot better today,” Bell said Saturday afternoon following two days of balmy, but windy weather.  “And I hit my irons really well. I just didn’t have a real good feel for the greens. I could have played a lot better.”

In reality, neither he nor his teammates had much of a chance to overcome the contingent from West Des Moines Valley.

Led by medalist Jeff Swegle, a sophomore who shot an even-par shot 144 par over the 36 holes, Valley took the team title with a total score of 607, 17 strokes better than runner-up Waukee.  Dowling Catholic of West Des Moines was one stroke behind at 625 for third, and Kennedy came in at 634.

Linn-Mar, the only other Metro school in the 12-team tournament, finished in next-to-last place with a 660 total, seven strokes in back of Iowa City City High and three better than Bettendorf.

“With our five seniors on the team, our goal was to finish in the top five,” said Lion Coach Steve Kahler.  “I know the kids are disappointed. We were about 20 strokes over our season average and had a bad couple of days.

“But there were a lot of good teams in the tournament, and we were ranked 10th coming in. So maybe it’s about right.”

Lion senior star Tyler McCann rebounded from a disastrous first-round 87 with a 77 on Saturday to claim a tie (along with Kennedy senior Tyler Kalina) for 36th place among individuals.

“I’m pleased that I came back,” McCann said at the end. “I sort of lost my game on Friday. If I’d had two days like today, I would have been right in the mix. It’s too bad, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Linn-Mar’s low scorer was fellow senior Trevor Berry, who had rounds of 79 and 81 to finish tied for 22nd with a 160 total. He was matched by Kennedy senior Brigham Stewart, who shot an 80 both days.

“I’m a little disappointed in how I played,” Stewart said. “And I wish the team could have finished higher in our last tournament together.

“But we had a good senior year, won our conference and the CRANDIC tournament. These two days aren’t the end of the world.”

The lone junior among Kennedy starters, Harrison Moore, shot a 78 on Saturday and paired it with a first-round 81 to tie for 18th at 159. Cougar senior teammate Mitch Martin tied for 25th with a two-day score of 162.

“I didn’t hit the ball terrible both days,” said Martin. “I put myself in the right position to make putts. But I just didn’t make the putts.”

On one hole, for instance, he had a 30-foot downhill putt for a birdie.  He hit his shot past the hole and ended up four-putting for a double bogey.

Qualifying for individual honors, Xavier senior J.P. King began the day tied for eighth following a first-round 78.  He tailed off with an 82 on Saturday to close at 160 in a tie for 22nd.  But King and his Coach Tim O’Brien said it was a good way to finish up his senior season.

“He only had two holes higher  than bogey out of 36 holes on a very tough course in very windy conditions,” O’Brien said.  “I couldn’t be more proud of his effort. He stayed in his game the whole way.”

For his part, King said he started out well.

“Then, I had a few rough holes when I was hitting the ball all over the place. But overall I had a couple of pretty good scores.”

Kennedy's Wilden could say the same about his group of close-knit golfers over the past four years.  They finished fourth in the state twice, third once and runner-up once.

“It’s been a great class,” the veteran coach said.  “I’m going to miss them.”

BOYS CLASS 4A STATE GOLF TOURNAMENT
At Iowa City
(Finkbine Golf Course, par-72)

Teams
1. WDM Valley           309-298--607
2. Waukee                   311-313--624
3. WDM Dowling        314-311--625
4. CR Kennedy           319-315--634
5. Ankeny                   322-313--635
6. Ames                       329-314--643
7. Ottumwa                322-322--644
8. Muscatine              327-323--650
9. Cedar Falls             337-316--653
10. Iowa City High    323-330--653
11. Linn-Mar             334-326--660
12. Bettendorf           331-332--663

Individuals
1. Jeff Swegle (WDM Valley)          69-75--144
2. Tomas Gouveia (WDM Valley)  76-75--151
3t. Jon Calhoun (WDM Dowling)    77-75--152
3t. Connor Littlefield (Waukee)      75-77--152
5. Colin Pearson (Fort Dodge)        80-73--153
6t. Andrew Huseman (Ankeny)     80-74--154
6t. Jacob Bermel (Cedar Falls)       79-75--154
6t. Cody Bell (CR Kennedy)            79-75--154
9t. Dustin Atkinson (Ames)            78-77--155
9t. Sammy DeBartolo (WDM D)    77-78--155
9t. Isaac Vandersee (WDM V)       80-75--155
12t. Kurt Martin (Ames)                80-76--156
12t. Grant Campbell (Waukee)     75-81--156
14t. Sam Elliott WDM Valley)       84-73--157
14t. Austin Howe (Waukee)          78-79--157

KENNEDY (634)
Cody Bell                79-75--154
Harrison Moore     81-78--159
Brigham Stewart   80-80--160
Mitchell Martin      79-83--162
Tyler Kalina           82-82--164
Jake Wilding          83-86--169

LINN-MAR (660)
Trevor Berry         79-81--160
Tyler McCann        87-77--164
Trevor McCann     85-84--169
Clay Vieth              86-84--170
Kyle Hackett          84-92--176
Mark Drake           93-86--179

XAVIER
JP King                   78-82--160

Kennedy 4th after 1st round of state golf

IOWA CITY - They played the first round of the Class 4A state golf tournament Friday and the winner was the Finkbine Golf Course.

Slick greens and windy conditions left many of the state'e elite golfers shaking their head in dismay as a succession of high scores came rolling off the University of Iowa course.

Cody Bell and Mitchell Martin led Kennedy with 7-over-par 79s, unusually high scores but good enough to leave the Cougars only 10 shots behind West Des Moines Valley heading into the final round on Saturday.

"It's do-able," said Kennedy Coach Mark Wilden said.

West Des Moines Valley took the lead with a four-man score of 21-over-par 309. Waukee is second at 311, with Dowling Catholic third at 314 and Kennedy fourth at 319.

"It's not impossible. It's golf. Anything can happen," Wilden said. "We can all shoot 72. It's going to take a good day on our part and not a particularly good day on their part. If we shoot 300 and they do what they did today, we're right there."

Kennedy has finished 3rd, 4th and 2nd at the state meet the last three years. The Cougars are in position for another top-5 finish, but the state title has been their goal all year.

Linn-Mar had a tough day Friday and stands in 11th place in the 12-team field at 334. Trevor Berry led the Lions with a 79.

J.P. King of Xavier posted the low score among Metro golfers Friday with a 6-over-par 78. The Saints did not qualify for the state meet as a team, but King qualified as an individual and is tied for seventh place going into the final round.

"I thought I did pretty well," King said. "I left a couple of shots out there, but that happens in golf."

King belted a long drive on the 401-yard No.1 hole and it got a favorable roll down a slope toward the green. He figured it probably went about 340 yards, leaving only a short chip to the green.

"I wasn't expecting it, I'll tell you that," he said. "I was pretty lucky. It rolled a long ways, but it was a good shot."

King hit a soft chip shot to about six feet from the cup and knocked it in for a birdie. "That was a good hole for me," he said.

King also hit a great chip on the 7th hole for a one-foot birdie. He enjoyed those short putts, because the longer ones were extremely tricky.

"Uphill you kind of baby it and leave it short," King said. "Downhill, if you hit it hard you would go screaming by. It was interesting putting out there."

Jeff Swegle of West Des Moines Valley tamed the wind and fast greens with a 3-under-par 69, by far the best round of the day and good for a six-shot lead heading into the final round.

"A 69 out here today is an unbelieveably good round," said King, saluting the leader.

Wilden thought the greens were fast, but not unfair. "Typical Finkbine greens," he observed. "They're in great shape. The course is in great shape."

Bell and Brigham Stewart had a total of seven 3-putt greens for the Cougars, accounting for much of their 10-stroke deficit. Both of them are normally good putters and play in the No.1 and No.2 spots for Kennedy. Stewart shot an 8-over 80.

"If we took all of our 3-putts out from just our top two guys, we're seven strokes better," Wilden said. "We just have to cut down on those mistakes.

"We have to adjust to the speed of the greens and you have to position your ball on the greens," he said. "Unfortunately we were not always in the fairway, so that made it tough for us to be where we wanted to be on the greens."

Harrison Moore was Kennedy's fourth scorer Friday with a 9-over-par 81. Tayler Kalina shot an 82 and Jake Wilding had an 83.

Linn-Mar senior Tyler McCann, the runnerup at the district meet Tuesday with a 74, struggled and finished at 15-over-par 87 Friday. Kyle Hackett shot an 84 for the Lions, Trevor McCann had an 85, Clay Vieth 86 and Mark Drake 93.

CLASS 4A STATE GOLF
Finkbine Golf Course
Iowa City
6,586 Yards, Par 72

Team Standings

1. West Des Moines Valley 309, 2. Waukee 311, 3. Dowling Catholic 314, 4. Kennedy 319, 5. (tie) Ottumwa 322; Ankeny 322, 7. Iowa City High 323, 8. Muscatine 327, 9. Ames 329, 10. Bettendorf 331, 11. Linn-Mar 334, 12. Cedar Falls 337.


Top 15 Individuals

1.  Jeff Swegle, WDM Valley              69
2.  Connor Littlefield, Waukee            75
Grant Campbell, Waukee               75
4.  Thomas Gouveia, WDM Valley       76
5.  Braxton Coble, Ottumwa              77
Jon Calhoun, Dowling                   77
7.  J.P. King, Xavier                         78
Austin Howe, Waukee                78
Rob Taylor, Dowling                   78
Dustin Atkinson, Ames                78
11. Cody Bell, Kennedy                   79
Mitchell Martin, Kennedy             79
Trevor Berry, Linn-Mar                79
Grant Simpson, City High            79
Jacob Bermel, Cedar Falls           79
Taylor Rittman, Ankeny             79
Britton VanderLinden, Indianola  79

AMES - Kurt Martin 80, Dustin Atkinson 78, Connor Power 88, Jack Sanders 89, Ryan Wengert 88, Dom Sorrentino 83.

ANKENY - Connor Peck 81, Andrew Huseman 80, Taylor Rittman 79, Griffin Matthias 88, Jesse Peck 85, Joey Rinker 82.

BETTENDORF - Cody Bender 89, Dan Robsinson 80, Alex Pohlmann 81, Brett Gaydos 96, Mitch Elkin 92, Nick Atwell 81.

CEDAR FALLS - Jacob Bermel 79, Wil Hunemuller 85, Jared Deines 86, Andy Kloos 93, Alec Braun 87, Jon Skarlis 93.

KENNEDY - Cody Bell 79, Brigham Stewart 80, Mitchell Martin 79, Harrison Moore 81, Jake Wilding 83, Tyler Kalina 82.

DOWLING - Jon Calhoun 77, Jack Gradoville 82, Sammy DeBartolo 77, Rob Taylor 78, Ricky DeBartolo 82, James Hansen 85.

IOWA CITY HIGH - Grant Simpson 79, Ryan Duncan 81, Nate Goddard 83, Trent Bedford 97, Zachary MacMillan 82, Patrick Jordan 81.

LINN-MAR - Tyler McCann 87, Trevor Berry 79, Clay Vieth 86, Mark Drake 93, Kyle Hackett 84, Trevor McCann 85.

MUSCATINE - Josh Anderson 80, Michael Canfield 82, Alex Snyder 83, Drake Decker 84, Tyler Askren 82, Adam Hutton 89.

OTTUMWA - Matt Walker 82, Christian Archer 83, Erik Thorgaard 83, Joe Wetrich 80, Braxton Coble 77, Dillon Patritto 94.

WDM VALLEY - Jeff Swegle 69, Broc Everett 84, Thomas Gouveia 76, Isaac Vandersee 80, Sam Elliott 84, Cole Wyckoff 85.

WAUKEE - Mike Woofter 83, Grant Campbell 75, Austin Howe 78, Zach Knudtson 86, Connor Littlefield 75, Aaron DeNucci 85.