Sutton medalist with 59

CEDAR RAPIDS — Davis Sutton's legs were a little shaky as he faced a 5-foot putt on his final hole Thursday.After nearly driving the green on No. 18 at Airport National and putting his second shot from the fringe, Sutton was up against a downhill putt with an opportunity for birdie.'I just stuck with the read and made it, and it was such a great feeling to make that putt and secure the 59,' Sutton, a Kennedy junior, said with a smile. 'It was such a relief just to make that one.'Sutton was the medalist in the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet with that 4-under par 59 on the executive course layout, leading the Cougars to the team title with a total of 253.Kennedy's Ross Grekoff and Seth Nutt each shot a 64, and teammate Conner Koberg ended the day with a 66. The Cougars finished with three of the top four individuals and began the season the way Kennedy Coach Mark Wilden was hoping to.'He's worked really hard all summer on getting his game in shape, and he's very determined,' Wilden said of Sutton. 'I think that showed today. He wants to be our team leader. I wouldn't say the other guys are just going to let him do that, but he wants to do that.'Kennedy topped Linn-Mar, Dubuque Senior and defending champion Cedar Rapids Xavier in second through fourth.Sutton said that a victory in a strong conference gives the team hope and motivation throughout the season.'It may raise your expectations slightly, but we just think this could be a really good year,' Sutton said. 'We're off to a good start with the win today. If we could just play like this all season, that would be great.'Kennedy juniors Cole Murdock, Koberg and Sutton finished in the top three of last week's Rotary Pribyl junior golf tournament in Cedar Rapids, and Wilden said all three have had a good summer. While the Cougars earned the win and 'played well' Thursday, he said the best golf the team will play is still to come this season.'As a team I think we're going to improve, which is kind of a scary thing I think,' Wilden said. 'They know what they want and they're determined. We're very humble, and we know that we're blessed. We just want to play good golf. That's all we want to do.'