Mon - 05 May
Written by Jim Ecker
MJ Kamin did not stick around for the awards ceremony after winning the Mississippi Valley Conference golf tournament at Hunters Ridge Monday, but she wasn't being rude or fat-headed.
She simply had to hustle back to Cedar Rapids Washington for practice with the girls soccer team, her other varsity squad this spring.
She also ran on the cross country team and played basketball this year while maintaining a superlative GPA and a part-time job at the Westfield Tennis Club.
The kid simply likes to keep busy.
Kamin shot a 7-over-par 79 to claim medalist honors at the MVC Super Meet, topping Teresa Lopez Moreno of Linn-Mar by two shots.
Kamin has enjoyed playing a variety of sports at Washington.
"I think it's great, because I know so many different groups of people and I feel like I have different groups of friends," she said. "Then it kind of stinks, because I have to say good-bye to those friends with every new season because I get so busy.
"But it's been great playing all the sports. I chose to play all of them, obviously, because I didn't want to pick."
Linn-Mar edged Xavier for the team championship Monday, 367-370, with Moreno leading the way at 9-over 81. Maddie Bertsch of Xavier tied for third at 82.
Kamin will be able to focus strictly on golf when she joins the Iowa State Cyclones this August as an invited walk-on. She's assured a spot on the team, which apparently will have only seven players again next season.
It looks like Kamin will be the only American on the team at ISU.
"If I think about this right: There are two from Spain, one from Sweden and the other three are going to be from Thailand. And me," she said.
Kamin has developed into one of the top golfers in the state despite playing a variety of sports in high school. She'll have a chance to elevate her game even more in college when she channels all her athletic efforts into golf.
"That's my hope," she said.
Kamin fell in love with golf at an early age, mostly because it's fun. "I enjoy going out and playing with my dad every weekend," she said.
Never willing to waste a day, she shot a 78 at Elmcrest Country Club on Saturday for practice. Then she went to prom that night.
MVC SUPER MEET
At Hunters Ridge
Par 72
Team Standings
1. Linn-Mar 367, 2. Xavier 370, 3. Cedar Falls 394, 4. Dubuque Wahlert
406, 5. Washington 407, 6. Waterloo West 420, 7. Prairie 434, 8. Dubuque
Senior 386, 9. Iowa City West 386, 10. Dubuque Hempstead 389, 11. Kennedy
425, 12. Iowa City High 427, 13. Waterloo East 525, 14. Jefferson 564.
Top 10 Individuals
1. MJ Kamin, Washington 79
2. Teresa Lopez Moreno, Linn-Mar 81
3. Maddie Bertsch, Xavier 82
Tierney Dalsing, Hempstead 82
5. Maddie Hawkins, Dubuque Sr 84
6. Sarah Overton, IC High 89
7. Hailey Bermel, Cedar Falls 90
8. Tiffany Danger, IC West 91
Katie Harding, Linn-Mar 91
10. Grace Winker, Xavier 92
LINN-MAR: Teresa Lopez Moreno 81, Katie Harding 91, Lauren Coughlin 94, Amanda Shannon 101, Morgan Uridil 111, Jordan Postma 114.
XAVIER: Maddie Bertsch 82, Grace Winker 92, Kara Zwanziger 98, Amy Olberding 98, Catie Locher 99, Melanie Wertaberger 117.
WASHINGTON: MJ Kamin 79, Mady Goodwin 106, Brett Visser 111, Hannah Harberts 111, Devon O'Donnell 127, Kandis O'Donnell 132.
PRAIRIE: Emily Machula 93, Emily Perrin 104, Sydney Stolba 118, Kennedy Fisher 119, Mallory Bennett 124, Grace Lindgren 132.
KENNEDY: Sierra Hargens 101, Breanna Osterkamp 102, Emily Moore 108, Val Davidson 114, Avery Haefner 140.
JEFFERSON: Regan Grekoff 120, Emily Smith 130, Holly Moershel 141, Jordan Henderson 173.
Last Updated on Monday, 05 May 2014 19:47
