Neighbors helps lead Washington to district title

IOWA CITY - Cedar Rapids Washington's Connor Neighbors is just a freshman, but he hasn't been playing like one.

He has been one of the more consistent golfers recently, according to Warrior co-head coach Dennis Goettel. The postseason can be included in that stretch.

Neighbors shot a 2-over par 73 for runner-up honors and led Washington to the team title at the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 4A district golf meet Tuesday at Finkbine Golf Course. The Warriors posted 307 total, topping runner-up Burlington by two, while Cedar Rapids Xavier was third. All three advance to the state meet Friday and Saturday at Elmcrest Country Club.

The course didn't allow many low scores with Burlington medalist Jace Mueller the lone player to break par with a 3-under 68. Neighbors was even on the front with two birdies on the back.

'It was tough,” Neighbors said. 'My short game was really good.”

It needed to be, because greens were especially quick with challenging pin placements. He managed the tough task, including a two-putt for birdie after having a shot at eagle on the par-5 15th.

'Some of the greens were really fast,” Neighbors said. 'It was hard to get good speed on them and get a good line. I did make a lot of putts, so it's good.”

Neighbors has demonstrated poise, maintaining his composure throughout the round. Goettel said he played steady and kept an even keel the entire round.

'He never gets too high and never gets too low,” Goettel said. 'He just keeps plugging away.

'We talk a lot to our kids about that but it's easier to say than to do. He manages to do it.”

Neighbors added a chip-in on the par-5 No. 11 hole.

'He stays out of trouble for the most part,” Goettel said. 'His trouble is maybe getting into the rough next to the fairway. He just didn't have any big trouble holes. I don't think he had anything over a bogey.”

Washington will return to the state meet as a team after reaching the tournament in 2013. The Warriors' Frank Lindwall shot 77 and Logan Bracey added 78. Alex Slattery and Jabe Gonder both finished with 79, which tied for the team's fourth-best score. Washington has had its sights set on contending for a state title, but they weren't going to overlook the test in front of them.

'In a way, it's a sense of relief,” Goettel said. 'It's been our goal all season to get to state. Last year we had trouble, so this was satisfying.”

Like Washington, Xavier heads to state after a year hiatus. The Saints will host the tournament this weekend, but it's even better to play in it. Xavier shot 310 to nab the final berth.

'I'm glad the boys aren't going to be ball-spotting,” Xavier Coach Tim O'Brien said with a laugh about the state meet. 'We are pretty excited, happy and pretty proud of them.

'They were pretty diligent in their efforts to prepare. We didn't look beyond the scores and it's a good thing we didn't.”

Senior Luke Winker led the way with a 75, placing third overall. He fired an even-par 35 on the back, but played consistently with nothing worse than a bogey. He focused on one shot at a time.

'I wasn't really thinking about the outcome,” Winker said. 'I was just going hole by hole, trying to take good shots.”

O'Brien praised Winker for solid play and his effort.

'I'm thrilled for him,” O'Brien said. 'He's the captain and leader of the team. I'm just really happy for Luke and all the hard work he has put in to perform at that level.”

Winker played on that last state team and is glad to be joined by his teammates. Mitch King and Matt Neumeyer both shot 77 and Brody Robinson added 81 for the Saints.

'It means a lot,” Winker said. 'With this being my senior year, I played my sophomore year but we didn't make it last year so it's nice to be there again.”

Iowa City West's J.D. Goodfellow earned a trip to the state meet for the first time. He carded a 76, tying for fourth.

CLASS 4A DISTRICT

At Iowa City

(Finkbine Golf Course, par 71)

Teams - 1. C.R. Washington* 307, 2. Burlington* 309, 3. C.R. Xavier* 310, 4. Cedar Falls 311, 5. (tie) C.R. Prairie, Muscatine, Ottumwa 319, 8. Iowa City West 326, 9. C.R. Kennedy 340, 10. C.R. Jefferson 346, 11. Waterloo West 355, 12. Iowa City High 358, 13. Waterloo East 440.

*-State qualifiers

Individual state qualifiers - 1. Jace Mueller (Bur), 68, 2. Connor Neighbors (CRW), 73, 3. Luke Winker (CRX), 75, 4. (tie) J.D. Goodfellow (ICW), Jared Hoelzen (Bur), Joe Dean (CF), Ben Linderman (Mus), Trey Thomas (Ott), 76.

C.R. Washington (307): Neighbors 73, Frank Lindwall 77, Logan Bracey 78, Jabe Gonder 79, Alex Slattery 79.

C.R. Xavier (310): Winker 75, Mitch King 77, Matt Neumeyer 77, Brody Robinson 81.

C.R. Prairie (319): Cooper Reittinger 77, Sam Lockhart 80, Ian Johnston 81, Griffen Clark 81, Matt Lorenz 81.

I.C. West (326): Goodfellow 76, Kyle Jenkins 82, Chris Mellinger 83, Kyle Spence 85.

C.R. Kennedy (340): Jonah Beman 83, Jake Corkery 84, Jordan Weiss 86, Cameron Stump 87.

C.R. Jefferson (346): Nile Happel 84, Adam Van Oort 85, Carter Schmitz 87, Lucas Brown 90.

City High (358): Calvin Greenberg 84, Garrett Highly 84, Tyler Courtney 93, Nile Ringen 97, Izaak Perez 97.

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