Kennedy Boys Golf

Stewart, Moore pace Kennedy golfers to victory

Brigham Stewart and Harrison Moore both shot even-par 36 Thursday to help Cedar Rapids Kennedy win a Mississippi Valley Conference quadrangular golf meet at Hunters Ridge in Marion.

Cody Bell fired a 1-over 37 for the Cougars. Tyler McCann and Trevor Berry shot 3-over 39 for Linn-Mar.

Kennedy won the meet by 14 strokes with a four-man total of 148, followed by Linn-Mar (162), Iowa City High (175) and Waterloo East (190).

KENNEDY (148): Brigham Stewart 36, Harrison Moore 36, Cody Bell 37, Tyler Kalina 39, Jake Wilding 39, Davis Sutton 39, Mitchell Martin 43.

LINN-MAR (162): Tyler McCann 39, Trevor Berry 39, Kyle Hackett 41, Mark Drake 43, Tom Billmeyer 45, Clay Vieth 47, Drew McGovern 47.

IOWA CITY HIGH (175): Grant Simpson 37, Zach MacMillan 46, Trent Bedford 47, Andrew Hein 47, Ryan Young 50, Mitch Hasler 54.

WATERLOO EAST (190): Clay Wilkinson 43, Tyler Kirchman 46, Bryce Frost 48, Cody Parker 53, Nathan Bryant 55, Reid Potwain 76.

Cougars hold off Saints at CRANDIC

On a day in which scores were higher than expected, Kennedy was carried by medalist Cody Bell to its fifth straight championship of the CRANDIC boys golf tournament Tuesday at Hunters Ridge Golf Course.

It was an ideal day for golf, or most anything else: Sunny and dry, moderately cool and near windless.

The third-ranked Cougars, state runner-up last year, won with a score of 321, two strokes ahead of a resurgent Xavier group.

Jefferson recorded a solid team effort to finish a surprising third at 329, one shot better than host Linn-Mar in the eight-team field.

The tournament favorite, Bell recorded back-to-back scores of 38 en route to a 4-over 76 to claim individual honors. Xavier senior JP King came in second with a 78, and senior teammate Jason Beer was a stroke back at 79 to tie for third with Jefferson senior Eric Lehmkuhl. Beer led after nine holes with a 37, despite taking a double-bogey 7 on the second hole.

Rounding out the top individual finishes and tied for fifth place with scores of 81 were seniors Tyler Kalina of Kennedy, Tyler McCann and Kyle Hackett of Linn-Mar and juniors Ben Otis of Jefferson and Rob Thiness of Xavier.

Both Bell and his coach Mark Wilden said the immaculately-groomed  Hunters Ridge course seemed to play longer than usual despite the near-perfect conditions.

“If you would have told me this morning that a score of 321 would win this tournament, I would have said you were crazy,” Wilden said.  “Frankly, I’m shocked that we won. But I’m very pleased that we won.”

Wilden said the fairways were a little more damp than they had been when his team recorded a score of 319 in the Linn-Mar Invitational earlier in the year.

“The course was softer today, so you didn’t get a lot roll,” Wilden said. “That changes everything.”

Beer recovered from a double bogey on the first hole of the day when he hit a 4-iron out of bounds.

“I was able to put that out of my mind and get back par golf,” he said. “The course was playing longer today, but I used length off the tees to my advantage.”

Beer nailed 14 of 18 greens and, except for the rocky start, remained steady all day.

Jefferson Coach Steve Koepke was thrilled that his J-Hawks came in third.

“It was a bit of a surprise, since we haven’t competed in two weeks,” he said.  “We took Friday off so the guys could show up in force at the Jeff sophomore football game, then had a three-day break over the holiday.

“But I told them at the team breakfast to stay positive. Finishing in third place in this field, I think, shows the power of positive thinking.”

CRANDIC TOURNAMENT
At Hunters Ridge
(Par-72)

Teams - 1. Kennedy 321, 2. Xavier 323, 3. Jefferson 329, 4. Linn-Mar 330, 5. Iowa City High 340, 6. Iowa City West 346, 7. Prairie 346, 8. Washington 355

Top 10 finishers
Cody Bell, CRK              38-38--76
JP King, CRX                 38-40--78
Jason Beer, CRX            37-42--79
Eric Lehmkuhl, CRJ      39-40--79
Ben Otis, CRJ                 38-43--81
Tyler Kalina, CRK          35-46--81
Rob Thinnes, CRX          40-41--81
Tyler McCann, LM          38-43--81
Kyle Hackett, LM           41-40--81
Mitch Willems, CRJ        39-43--82
Brigham Stewart, CRK  37-45--82  
Harrison Moore, CRK    38-44--82
Colyn Snyder, CRP        42-40--82

KENNEDY (321): Cody Bell 76, Tyler Kalina 81, Brigham Stewart 82, Harrison Moore 82, Mitchell Martin 83, Jake Wilding 92

XAVIER (323): JP King 78, Jason Beer 79, Rob Thinnes 81, Matt Junge 85, Ben Sagers 89, Ben McDermott 96

JEFFERSON (329): Eric Lehmkuhl 79, Ben Otis 81, Mitch Willems 82, Zach Denny 87, Gavin Williams 93, Colten Jourdan 102

LINN-MAR (330): Tyler McCann 81, Kyle Hackett 81, Trevor Berry 83, Clay Vieth 85, Mark Drake 85, Drew McGovern 85

IOWA CITY HIGH (340): Grant Simpson 84, Trent Bedford 84, Ryan Duncan 86, Patrick Jordan 86, Nate Goddard 87, Coale Cooper 92

IOWA CITY WEST (346): Drew Haas 86, Anthony Lehnertz 86, Dominic Muzzin 87, Tyler Whitehead 87, Noah Federici 88, Joe Scott 92

PRAIRIE (346): Colyn Snyder 82, Mitch Wagner 83, att Edl 88, Drew Digman 93, Jared Smith 94, Brooks Kehoe 103

WASHINGTON (355): Matt Starnd 87, Austin Bergstrom 88, Dominic Rodriguez 90, Jon Landis 90, John Kopec 91, Zach Gothard 97

Drew Wall embraces life on one leg

After shooting his best-ever nine-hole round of 56 in the season-opening all-Metro high school meet two weeks ago, Kennedy golfer Drew Wall was sorry to miss last week's match, if only to support his teammates.

But, as they say, he had a prior engagement.

On Wednesday, the 15-year-old freshman was one of the featured speakers at the 11th Annual Kirk Ferentz Football Kickoff Luncheon in Iowa City. Afterward, few in the crowd of 300 dignitaries were talking about the coach's remarks. Or those of Iowa President Sally Mason. Or Terry Branstad or Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds. Or anybody else, for that matter.

A three-column headline on the front page of the Iowa City Press-Citizen the next day used a quote from UI vice president of medicine Dr. Jean Robillard, who called the young man "a hero, a true winner" for his courage and determination.

"It was pretty cool," Drew said later, equally excited by the laughs he got "from a couple of one-liners I threw out" and the Hawkeye jersey with his name on the back presented by the head coach himself.

It was nothing new for him to tell his life story and, as an unofficial poster boy for the university's Children's Hospital, tell how lives besides his own are being saved there every day.

And that he's now a member of the Kennedy golf team, with his right leg cut off at the knee and walking on what he lovingly calls his "bionic leg."

Drew  was born to be an athlete. His father, Doug, was a star at Jefferson, his mother Robin (Dye) a volleyball whiz at Kennedy and Cornell College.

Tall like his parents and his own little brother Adam, who's 6-foot-3 and in the eighth grade at Taft, he too had a growth spurt in grade school. He was playing in two basketball leagues as a fifth grader at Madison Elementary when, in January of 2008, he had leg pains that wouldn't go away.

Tests showed he had bone cancer in his lower right leg, and he underwent 10 weeks of chemotherapy at University Hospitals to kill as many cancer cells as possible. Still, a large deadly tumor remained.

At the age of 11, he (and his folks) faced a grim decision. Doctors said to cut out the tumor and the tissue all around would leave his leg essentially useless. They'd literally have to destroy it in order to save it.

Or, he could have it amputated and be fitted with an artificial leg.

"I knew it would change my life," Drew says today. "But I didn't want to have a limp all my life and not be able to do the things I wanted to do.

"With the kind of prostheses they have today, I could still run and jump. I could play football and golf and other stuff. Not like I could before, but I could still do it.

"Amputation seemed like the best option to me. But I think it was harder for my parents."

Indeed, after the radical surgery in April 2008, he quickly adapted to life on one leg. He continued to play the piano, maintained straight A's in school and took part in all activities as before.

He's been an active participant on a youth advisory council helping plan a new Children's Hospital in Iowa City and a spokesman for the Children's Miracle Network.

While at Taft Middle School, he took golf lessons from teacher (and City Amateur champion) Steve Koepke. He earned a brown belt in tae kwon do. Last year he was on the Taft swim team.

And, as a seventh grader, he personally lobbied in the state legislature for a bill requiring insurance companies to pay for prosthetic devices that can run as much as $50,000. He has a pen used by Gov. Chet Culver when he signed the bill into law.

"Drew has kept a positive attitude that's just remarkable," says his 89-year-old grandmother Leta Wall, a longtime political activist who often accompanied him to Des Moines. "Can you imagine losing your leg at that young age? But he just accepts what God has given him and goes on. I wish I had the faith that boy has."

While science and doctors' skills may have saved his life, his grandmother says it's faith that lets him live it to the fullest. "He doesn't preach about it. But you can tell," she says.

It is a faith that's surely been tested, for the cancer didn't go away as they hoped it would when the original tumor was removed. Drew had 30 more weeks of chemotherapy after surgery and the prognosis was good.

In the three years since, however, clear tests have inevitably been followed by the growth of pebble-like cancerous cells in the lungs. He's had five separate operations to rid the tiny tumors from his right lung and nearly three dozen weeks of chemotherapy treatments.

Optimism, it seems, is always short-lived. Two months ago, spots showed up for the first time in his left lung.

Drew has had all the chemotherapy he can take for now. So he goes back to Iowa City on Wednesday for yet another grueling surgery the next day to try and stop the spread. Still, he plans to be back on the golf course soon.

"I try to live my life as normal as possible," he says. "It's not easy. But I take life one day at a time and make the best of it."

Kennedy golf coach Mark Wilden, for one, says the first-year golfer is an inspiration to everyone else on the team, no matter that his personal-best score is a 56 for nine holes.

"Drew doesn't want any pity or anybody to feel sorry for him. He's just one of the guys," Wilden says.

"You know, a lot of times, kids want things easy. Then you look at Drew and what he's up against. But nothing slows him. He challenges himself all the time to get better.

"He's a participant in life. He lives life every day and lives it the right way."

Martin helps Kennedy golfers win

IOWA CITY - Mitchell Martin fired a 1-under-par 35 Thursday to help Cedar Rapids Kennedy win a Mississippi Valley Conference triangular meet at Pleasant Valley Golf Course.

Kennedy and Iowa City High both finished with 149 shots, but the Cougars were awarded the victory on a tiebreaker. Waterloo East placed third at 205.

Cody Bell, Brigham Stewart, Tyler Kalina and Jake Wilding all shot 2-over-par 38 for Kennedy.

KENNEDY (149): Mitchell Martin 35, Cody Bell 38, Brigham Stewart 38, Tyler Kalina 38, Jake Wilding 38, Davis Sutton 39, Harrison Moore 42.

IOWA CITY HIGH (149): Ryan Duncan 37, Grant Simpson 37, Coale Cooper 37, Patrick Jordan 38, Trent Bedford 40, Zach MacMillan 40, Nate Goddard 43.

WATERLOO EAST (205): Clay Wilkinson 44, Nathan Bryant 52, Ryan Plummer 54, Bryce Frost 55, Riley Hanks 55, Tyler Kirchman 57, Cody Parker 61.