Cougars roll in MVC Divisional meet

CEDAR RAPIDS - One opposing coach referred to the Cedar Rapids Kennedy as nearly untouchable and a member of the Waterloo West golfer sarcastically mentioned the Cougars only had a 34-stroke advantage before the final round of a conference competition.Even though no one is likely to concede a Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Division title, but Kennedy took another step toward locking it up.The Cougars dominated the second of three rounds in the MVC Mississippi Divisional tournament, posting a team total of 299 and placing each of its six golfers in the top 11 Monday at Ellis Golf Course. Kennedy takes a hefty lead into the final round of the event in two weeks at Gardner Golf Course in Marion.A need to improve motivates the Cougars, keeping them from buying into the comments of the opposition.“We're not satisfied about it,” said Kennedy senior Dane Worley, who earned medalist honors with a 71. “We want to increase the lead more. It would be nice to shoot in the 200s for the third divisional.”They had their way with the course and the competition Monday. The Cougars finished 21 strokes ahead of second-place Linn-Mar and carded five of the top seven scores. Kennedy sophomore Harrison Moore tied for second with a 75 and teammate Cody Bell was one shot behind him with 76. Brigham Stewart and Dan Wasta each shot 77.Worley, Stewart, Bell and Mitchell Martin hold the top four spots after the second round. Worley sits at 142, 10 strokes up on Stewart in second. Bell and Martin are at 153 and 154, respectively. Moore is just two strokes back from the top 12 that earn conference honors.“When you shoot under 300 that's pretty good,” Cougars Coach Mark Wilden said. “Our goal is to get as many guys all-conference as possible,” Wilden said. “It's not just about winning. It's about them being able to have some accolades.”Moore and Wasta are a testament to the Cougars depth and balance. Moore was listed as the team's No. 6 golfer and Wasta didn't play in the MVC Super Meet, which serves as the opening round for divisional meet play. Wasta helped fill the void with Jonathan Chadick out with a back injury.“Dan Wasta stepped in today. He didn't play in the first round,” Wilden said. "Whether this is the best lineup that we have I don't know. We pride ourselves, just like the (University of Iowa) Hawkeyes, next man in sort of thing."Worley was the lone golfer that shot under par, including 2-under-par on the challenging back nine at Ellis. He birdied two of the first four holes after the turn and was steady by closing out with pars. He also birdied the par-5 third hole. The performance was business as usual.“We've come to expect that out of him,” Wilden said. “It's disappointing when he isn't there.”Worley, who placed third at state last year helping Kennedy to its second straight top-four state finish last year, was content with the performance.“I'm very pleased,” Worley said. “I'm going to credit our short game work.“I haven't had a 3-putt in 72 holes in competitive play which is awesome. For me, that's really what I'm most pleased about.” That work includes an "up-and-down" game with teammates Bell, Stewart and Martin where they challenge each other who can ship closest to the hole outside of practice. Worley claims he has won 4 of 7 contests and the others have one win apiece.Getting up-and-down early help build confidence with his putter. Worley hit a pair of 8-foot putts on the first two holes to save par. It carried on through the round.“It was a confidence booster,” Worley said. “I 1-putted my first four holes. Once you make some putts early I was able to get that confidence to keep going.”Linn-Mar's confidence has been growing recently and they golfed well, closing in on second in the MVC.  After a slow start to the season the Lions have rebounded. The runner-up finish Monday prompted Coach Steve Kahler to take the Lions for some celebratory ice cream.“That was our goal,” Kahler said. “I said if we get top two ... so we're happy about that.“We've had two pretty good meets in a row now. We ended up winning our first meet in Dubuque and second in this one. Our record since we started our second season is 9-1. It's a little bit better.””Trevor Berry led the Lions' effort, shooting 75 and tying for second. Berry birdied holes No. 6 and 9 for a 1-over 37 on the front nine. Jeremy Danover added a 79 and Tyler McCann shot 81 for the Lions. Berry has been the team's most reliable scorer.“He's been playing well,” Kahler said. “He's been the most consistent golfer for us this year so far.”Cedar Rapids Washington's Trent Hoekstra tied Bell for fourth with a 76. Hoekstra's day started in impressive fashion, carding a 2-under-par 34 after nine holes. Hoekstra scored three birdies in a four hole stretch before the turn.The Lions are tied for third with Iowa City High in the team race through the second round. Both teams are at 640 after the Little Hawks shot 332 at Ellis. City High's Ryan Maske, who shot 81, is in a three-way tie, which includes Martin, for fourth overall at 154. Berry enters the final round is seventh overall at 155.