Cedar Rapids Prairie claims Mississippi Valley Conference divisional boys’ golf title

CEDAR RAPIDS – Cedar Rapids Prairie boys’ golf team is pretty sneaky.

The Hawks caught Coach Erik Columbus off-guard and doused him with cold water before they loaded the van for the ride home. A celebratory moment because Prairie is sneaky good on the course.

The Hawks shot 298 and finished one-shot back of Dubuque Wahlert at the Mississippi Valley Conference Vall Division golf meet Monday at Gardner Golf Course. The performance was good enough to claim the overall MVC Valley Division title, posting a three-round total of 861, which was seven shots better than the Golden Eagles.

“One through six, we really picked each other up all year,” said Columbus, who was named MVC Valley Coach of the Year. “I’m really proud of the boys. They deserve all this.

“Playing with the lead isn't easy. I couldn’t be happier for the boys making school history.”

Prairie earned their first MVC divisional title in boys’ golf in school history. It was the first conference title in the sport since 1972 when the school was a member of the East Central Iowa Conference.

“It really shows the time put in,” Stockdale said. “At the start of the season, we knew we had a chance to do something great with our top four being on the all-conference team. We are how we practice.”

Stockdale and No. 1 golfer Henry Sobaski led the way, tying for second with Iowa City High’s Jack Rogers and three other golfers at 1-over 73. Tony Boelter and Jeter Lewis added 75 and 77, respectively. Sobaski, Stockdale and Boelter were all first-team all-MVC Valley performers, while Lewis made the second team, which are based on scoring totals from the MVC Super Meet and two divisional rounds.

“We were all in the 70s,” Columbus said. “We always talk about how each score always counts because of tiebreaker situations since the MVC is solid. It's going to be a stroke here.

The top three teams were separated by three strokes. The quality in the MVC is so good you just can't really take a day off and expect to (win). You’ve got to bring it every time.”

Stockdale provided a boost with a scoring 3-under 33 on the back nine. He opened the round with a birdie on No. 18 but had 40 on the front. Columbus was a little nervous following the live scoring.

“Traditionally, the front side is the easy side, but then he played championship golf on the championship side,” Columbus said. “It was really cool how he did that.”

Stockdale said it usually takes him midway through a round to dial in on clubs and distance. At that point of the round, he had consecutive birdies on Nos. 10 and 11. He added another on the 17 th.

“I get warm about my 10 th or 11 th hole,” Stockdale said. “As soon as I know what yardages and clubs are comfortable for me, I just pick it, hit the yardage, trust it and see if it works out.”

Cedar Falls’ Drew Larimer was medalist with 71 and earned MVC Valley Athlete of the Year honors.

The Hawks are looking for their second straight state berth. They will compete in a Class 4A district at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls. The divisional title is one of their goals but they will be going right back to work to prepare for the postseason.

“I think it’s more about the time put in that nobody sees,” Stockdale said. “Just you and the course – one-on-one – to improve your game.”

CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER WINS MVC MISSISSIPPI IN BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL GOLF

Cedar Rapids Xavier captured the MVC Mississippi Division title Monday at Ellis Golf Course. The Saints recorded a 289 team total to win the final round and claim the overall championship.

Xavier’s Logan Otting and Linn-Mar’s Christian Cloyd each shot 2-under 70 for runner-up medalist honors. Dubuque Senior’s Colton McCollaugh was medalist with 69.

Xavier finished with a three-round total of 871, 25 better than Linn-Mar, which was second with 296 on Monday. Harrison Hartke and Jack Pauly shot 72 apiece and Jacob Schmit added 75 for the Saints.

Hartke finished first overall with 212, claiming MVC Mississippi Athlete of the Year honors. He edged Otting by one stroke. Xavier won all three rounds, including the MVC Super Meet to start the season.

“The boys did a clean sweep,” Xavier Coach Brandon Schiltz said. “They are enjoying themselves.”

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE

VALLEY DIVISION MEET

At Gardner Golf Course

(Par 72)

Teams – 1. Dubuque Wahlert 297, 2. C.R. Prairie 298, 3. Cedar Falls 300, 4. Waterloo West 304, 5. Iowa City High 305, 6. Dubuque Hempstead 308, 7. C.R. Washington 324, 8. C.R. Jefferson 362.

Individuals – 1. Drew Larimer (CF), 71, 2. (tie) Henry Sobaski (CRP), Emmett Stockdale (CRP), Jack Rogers (ICH), Henry Their (DW), Jay McCausland (WW) and Jackson Stanford, 73.

PRAIIRIE (298): Sobaski 73, Stockdale 73, Tony Boelter 75, Jeter Lewis 77.

CITY HIGH (305): Rogers 73, Henry Birt 74, Will Feagler 75, Del Brewer 83.

WASHINGTON (324): Todd Barker Jr. 78, Cal Slessor 80, Bjorn White 83, Dan Holladay 83.

JEFFERSON (362): Dom Rulli 87, Colton Fee 90, Maddux Armstrong 92, Cole Fisher 93.

MVC VALLEY FINAL STANDINGS

Teams – 1. C.R. Prairie 861, 2. Dubuque Wahlert 868, 3. Cedar Falls 881, 4. Iowa City High 907, 5. Waterloo West 913, 6. Dubuque Hempstead 925, 7. C.R. Washington 935, 8. C.R. Jefferson 1,098.

Individuals – 1. Larimer (CF), 201, 2. Sobaski (CRP), 209, 3. (tie) Stockdale (CRP) and Stanford (WW), 211, 5. Their (DW), 213.

Athlete of the Year – Larimer (CF)

Coach of the Year – Erik Columbus (CRP)

ALL- MVC VALLEY

First team

Larimer (CF), Sobaski (CRP), Stockdale (CRP), Stanford (WW), Their (DW), Rogers (ICH), McCausland (WW), Boelter (CRP), Connor Walsh (DW)

Second team

Josh Klauer (DW), Ethan Boyle (CF), Cal Martineau (DW), Landon Fish (DH), Ty Miller (DW), Henry Birt (ICH), Will Feagler (ICH)

Honorable mention

(Gazette area only)

Lewis (CRP), Slessor (CRW), Barker Jr. White (CRW)

MVC MISSISSIPPI DIVISION MEET

At Ellis Golf Course

(Par 72)

Teams – 1. C.R. Xavier 289, 2. Linn-Mar 296, 3. Dubuque Senior 296, 4. Iowa City Liberty 301, 5. Iowa City West 315, 6. Western Dubuque 317, 7. C.R. Kennedy 325.

Individuals – 1. Colton McCollaugh (DS), 69, 2. (tie) Christian Cloyd (LM) and Logan Otting (CRX), 70, 4. (tie) Max Faulkner (LM), Brooks Andersen (ICL) and Quintin Hirsch (DS), 71.

XAVIER (289): Otting 70, Harrison Hartke 72, Jack Pauly 72, Jacob Schmit 75.

LINN-MAR (296): Cloyd 70, Faulkner 71, Kael Smith 77, Chase Bowman 78.

I.C. LIBERTY (301): Andersen 71, Joel Bilskemper 74, Kade Baxter 76, Sam Perry 80.

I.C. WEST (315): Isaac Wendt 76, Jack MacLagan 79, Maddox Smith 80, Pierce Hribar 80.

KENNEDY (325): Leo Koester 74, George Trovas 82, Hunter Freeze 84, Kael Haugen 85, Tyler Trudo 85.

MVC MISSISSIPPI FINAL STANDINGS

Teams – 1. C.R. Xavier 871, 2. Linn-Mar 896, 3. Dubuque Senior 911, 4. Iowa City Liberty 925, 5. Iowa City West 947, 6. Western Dubuque 986, 7. C.R. Kennedy 997.

Individuals – 1. Hartke (CRX), 212, 2. Otting (CRX), 213, 3. Cloyd (LM), 216, 4. Pauly (CRX), 219, 5. Hirsch (DS), 220.

Athlete of the Year – Hartke (CRX)

Coach of the Year – Brandon Schiltz (CRX)

ALL-MVC MISSISSIPPI

First team

Hartke (CRX), Otting (CRX), Cloyd (LM), Pauly (CRX), Hirsch (DS), Bilskemper (ICL), Faulkner (LM), Koester (CRK), McCollaugh (DS)

Second team

Pranay Monga (CRX), Barrett Reed (DS), Trevor Denny (LM), Andersen (ICL), Schmit (CRX), Smith (LM), Henry Gilbertson (WD), Smith (ICW)

Honrable mention

(Gazette area only)

Regan Kopecky (ICL), Hribar (ICW), Parker Ridgway (LM), Ben Braksiek (CRX), Hayden Kluesner (WD), MacLagan (ICW), Will Stoakes (ICL)

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com