Goodfellow, Washington capture MVC crowns

CEDAR RAPIDS - J.D. Goodfellow will have a few extra items on display for his graduation party in the spring.

His family will find a spot in their garage to post the large paper leaderboard and the small golf trophy he earned to open his senior season.

Goodfellow fired a 1-under 69, capturing medalist honors of the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet held Thursday at Jones Park Golf Course. He helped Iowa City West to a distant second to team champion Cedar Rapids Washington.

The all-conference performer was not surprised he was the only one to crack par.

'I have been playing pretty well this summer,” Goodfellow said. 'I had a couple rounds under par, so I knew I could actually do it. It was just a matter of going out and doing it.”

The summer has been a vital time for Goodfellow, who traveled to various events with his mother, Mary, a former University of Iowa and Cedar Rapids Regis golfer, who coaches West's girls' team. He also spent time at nearby golf courses working on his skills or just playing a couple holes.

'He's worked awfully hard this summer,” Bristow said. 'He's played a lot of tournaments. He's put a lot of devotion on the putting and chipping greens.”

The short game provided a boost to the round, allowing him to come in with a low score. Goodfellow chipped in from about 50 yards out for an eagle on the par-4 No. 12 hole. Later in the round, he chipped in from about 25 yards in front of the green, carding one of four birdies.

'Those both helped,” Goodfellow said. 'I've been working on it, but it's golf. Some days it is on and some days it is off.

'It's getting there.”

The latter came after he suffered two straight bogeys and chunked a bunker shot after his tee shot found the side right of the fairway. He recently played Prairie Dunes Country Club in Kansas, a tough course that forces players to overcome bad shots and holes.

'You have to forget about those,” Goodfellow said. 'You're going to make doubles and triples there (Prairie Dunes). A lot of kids are going to have 10s. You just have to learn to get past those and not think about the past. Keep focusing.”

Goodfellow is looking for a trip to the state tournament. He's off to a strong start, but improvement remains.

'Keep on working,” Goodfellow said. 'Just try to minimize your mistakes out on the course.”

Washington demonstrated its depth to capture the team crown. The Warriors won by a whopping 12 strokes without using the scores of their top two golfers for the meet.

'It's exciting,” Washington co-head coach Dennis Goettel said. 'I don't know how many times a team has won without using their No. 1 or No. 2.

'They played a lot this summer. This is really rewarding.”

Jabe Gonder earned runner-up honors, shooting a 1-over 71. He posted two birdies, matching par on the front.

'It's terrific,” Goettel said of Gonder's feat. 'He worked extremely hard.”

Washington's scorers littered the top nine. Will Jackson shot 74 and Alex Slattery and Logan Bracey added 75 apiece. Pribyl champion Frank LIndwall had 77 to give Washington five in the top 12.

'It's a great group of kids,” Goettel said. 'They have high goals and this was one of them. We hope to keep it going.”

West received a 78 from Kyle Jenkins. Chris Mellinger shot 79 and freshman Kyle Spence had 81.

'I'm proud of the kids,” Bristow said. 'No complaints.”

Cedar Rapids Xavier placed third with 311, winning a tiebreaker with Cedar Falls and Dubuque Wahlert. Luke Winker and Tyler Breitbach led the Saints with 77.

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE SUPER MEET

At Jones Park Golf Course

(Par 70)

Teams - 1. C.R. Washington 295, 2. Iowa City West 307, 3. C.R. Xavier* 311, 4. Cedar Falls* 311, 5. Dubuque Wahlert 311, 6. Linn-Mar 313, 7. C.R, Kennedy* 314, 8. Dubuque Senior 314, 9. C.R. Prairie 321, 10. Iowa City High 344, 11. Dubuque Hempstead 347, 12. C.R. Jefferson 349, 13. Waterloo West 364, 14. Waterloo East NS.

*-won tiebreaker with best fifth-player score.

Individuals - 1. J.D. Goodfellow (ICW), 69, 2. Jabe Gonder (CRW), 71, 3. Gus Zuccaro (DS), 73, 4. Alex Weber (DW), 73, 5. Nile Happel (CRJ), 73.

C.R. Washington (295): Gonder 71, Will Jackson 74, Alex Slattery 75, Logan Bracey 75.

I.C. West (307): Goodfellow 69, Kyle Jenkins 78, Chris Mellinger 79, Kyle Spence 81.

C.R. Xavier (311): Luke Winker 77, Tyler Breitbach 77, Sam Martin 78, Matt Neumeyer 79.

Linn-Mar (313): Jake Sevcik 78, Jack Recker 78, Brent Larson 78, Max Thrune 79.

C.R. Kennedy (314): Cameron Stump 76, Jake Corkery 76, Jordan Weiss 78, Jonah Beman 84.

C.R. Prairie (321): Cooper Reittinger 79, Griffen Clark 79, Cal Clark 81, Bryce Prokop 82.

City High (344): Calvin Greenberg 77, Garrett Highly 82, Nile Ringen 91, Alex Kooker 94.

C.R. Jefferson (349): Happel 73, Adam Van Oort 83, Lucas Brown 95, Austin Schmitz 98.

l Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@thegazette.com