Askelson captures medalist honors at MVC Super Meet

CORALVILLE - Kimmy Askelson keeps tabs on her competition, while focusing on her own golf game.

So when she hit the turn Monday she knew exactly where she stood with her group members, Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Megan Furnish and Iowa City West's Madison Goodfellow.

The Cedar Rapids senior then became the model of consistency, parring eight of the last nine holes and posting a 77 to capture medalist honors at the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet on Monday at Brown Deer Golf Club. She edged Allison Rollinger of Cedar Falls and Dubuque Wahlert's Amy Ihm by two strokes. Cedar Falls won with a 324, beating runner-up Wahlert by 38.

Askelson trailed Furnish, who tied for sixth with an 82, after carding a 40 on the front nine, but she was confident in her position.

“I knew I was one behind Megan,” Askelson said. “I just needed to hit good shots, avoid trouble and make putts.”

Askelson is regularly paired with other No. 1 golfers and used to playing with the leaders. She admits she likes to know how they are scoring as well as on her own game.

“A mix of both,” said Askelson, who placed fourth in the Class 4A state meet last year. “I keep their score in my mind in the back of my head, but focus on my shot individually.

“They push me.”

Askelson reached the clubhouse at the midway point and gave Xavier Coach Julie Kadlec an "OK" in describing her play to that point. She knew consistent play would benefit her down the stretch.

“I felt like I was hitting it good on the front,” Askelson said. “I knew if I just stayed out of trouble on the back I'd be OK.”

That's exactly what Askelson did. She recorded all but one par, shooting a 2-over-par 37. Her only blip was a double-bogey on the 213-yard, par-4 No. 13. The hole played toughest during the round with golfers scoring an average 7.01, which is more than a half-stroke higher on average than the next toughest hole.

Askelson said her work on the extremely fast greens at Brown Deer was the difference, especially on the back nine. She tallied 35 total putts, including 17 on the final nine.

“Putting was key, because these greens were the fastest we played on all year,” Askelson said. “They really don't break too much … I figured out on the front (nine) that when I take it to the back (nine) that I need to respect the hole, not give it away, because if you give it a tap it will roll quite a way.”

Askelson managed a tough course well. She said she had to calculate each shot, determining yardage for the proper club to work her way through the course of water hazards and dog-legs.

“My group spent a lot of time on the tee box, figuring out, getting the feel and visualizing our shots,” Askelson said. “It's tricky. You have to block out all the hazards and visualize where you want the ball to go.”

Kadlec said her intelligence on the course helps elevate her into the top group of golfers.

“Strategically placing that shot and knowing which club is going to get you where is very important,” Kadlec said. “She's good at that.

“She can look at a shot and know exactly which club she needs to do it.”

The Saints grabbed third place, posting a 379. Maddie Bertsch carded a 99 for Xavier. The Saints' Grace Winker and Lisa Olberding added a 101 and 104, respectively. It was a decent showing for a young team with only one senior and a junior.

“I'm happy with how they did,” Kadlec said. “We have a really young team.  Overall, I think they did really well.”

Xavier trails Cedar Falls by a whopping 55 strokes entering next Monday's MVC Valley Division meet at Twin Pines.  Cedar Falls dominated the field with all six of its golfers scoring 92 or better and each in the top 13.  Allison Rollinger shot 79 and Megan Brewer had 80 for the Tigers, which also received an 82 from Taylor Roberts and Sonja Przybyski's 83.

Kadlec said the Saints needs to be stronger mentally for more consistent play and improve their putting. She was satisfied with Monday's performance.

“They know where they can shave the strokes for our next meet,” Kadlec said. “This is a challenging course for them and I think they did well. I'm proud of their third-place finish today.”

Iowa City West was fourth with 389, led by Goodfellow's 85 and will also compete in the MVC Valley Divisional.

Linn-Mar had one of the most consistent team performances with all four scorers within three shots of each other. Dionna Jensen carded a 97 to lead the Lions, which was fifth with 396. Linn-Mar trails Dubuque Wahlert by 34 heading into next Monday's MVC Mississippi Division meet at The Meadows in Dubuque.

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE SUPER MEET

At Coralville

(Brown Deer Golf Club, par 71)

Teams - 1. Cedar Falls 324, 2. Dubuque Wahlert 362, 3. C.R. Xavier 379, 4. Iowa City West 389, 5. Linn-Mar 396, 6. Iowa City High 401, 7. Dubuque Senior 404, 8. C.R. Prairie 421, 9. C.R. Jefferson 422, 10. C.R. Kennedy 434, 11. Waterloo West 440, 12. C.R. Washington 461, Dubuque Hempstead and Waterloo East NS.

Teams -

Individuals - 1. Kimmy Askelson (CRX), 40-37-77, 2. (tie) Allison Rolinger (CF), 39-40-79, and Amy Ihm (DW), 37-42-79, 4. Megan Brewer (CF), 41-39-80, 5. Megan Miehe (DH), 38-43-81, 6. (tie) Megan Furnish (CRJ), 39-43-82, and Taylor Roberts (CF), 44-38-82, 8. Sonja Przybylski (CF), 46-37-83, 9. Madison Goodfellow (ICW), 44-41-85, 10. Jehri Wagner (CRP), 44-42-86.

Xavier (379): Askelson 79, Maddie Bertsch 97, Grace Winker 101, Lisa Olberding 104.

I.C. West (389): Goodfellow 85, Alyssa Adamec 95, Madyson Boardman 102, Olivia Ewing 107.

Linn-Mar (396): Dionna Jensen 97, Rachel Thrune 99, Emma Lorenz 100, Sarah Tegtmeier 100.

City High (401): Elizabeth Wheeler 96, Katherine van der Woude 98, Jordyn Theisen 103, Emily Koepnick 104.

C.R. Prairie (421): Wagner 86, Alyssa Beisker 105, Jess Boldt 114, Emily Perrin 116.

C.R. Jefferson (422): Furnish 82, Leah Groe 109, Emily Aukes 112, Hillary Harriman 119.

C.R. Kennedy (434): Ali Lindo 101, Paige Ermer 104, sadie Schultz 113, Emily O'Brien 116.

C.R. Washington (461): Dani Wilson 110, Abbey Overland 112, Katie Rohde 117, Becca Herron 122.

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