Cedar Falls girls top field in regional golf tourney

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids Kennedy junior Sierra Hargens has been playing golf for less than two full years. Not competitive golf. Golf period.

That may have kept the disappointment from being readily apparent when she spoke about just missing a second straight berth in the Class 5A state meet at Tuesday's regional tournament at Gardner Golf Course.

'This year I've been averaging in the mid-80s,” said Hargens, whose 86 was two strokes shy of a top-five finish and state tournament berth. 'Last year, I was like in the 90s, then a week before regionals in the 80s. And then in regionals I shot 79. That was pretty crazy.”

A couple of short missed putts kept Hargens from a return to state.

'I just looked up and missed them,” she said. 'I was expecting to do better. (But) I can't really change it now. What's the point of getting super upset?”

Cedar Falls placed three golfers in the top five and ran away with the team title with a 338 total. Dubuque Hempstead was second at 362. Kennedy was third at 380. The top two teams qualified for next week's state meet at Marshalltown.

Dubuque Senior sophomore Maddie Hawkins was medalist with a 10-over par 82. Cedar Falls sophomore Hannah Bermel was second at 83. Her twin sister, Hailey, finished in a three-way tie for third with teammate Alex Miller and Mason City sophomore Sydney Eaton at 84.

Scoring was hindered by rain that left the turf soggy. A stiff breeze also affected play.

Hargens was a softball player until July 20213, when her father, Scott, coaxed her into playing a round of golf.

'She said, ‘I'll go out with you if you get a cart and I can drive it,'” Scott said. 'I said, ‘All right. Let's go.'

'We went out and she was crushing it. Right out of the gate she just had it. It was weird.”

Sierra Hargens hit the simulators the past two winters at Elmcrest Country Club and played the Iowa Junior PGA Tour last summer to develop her game.

Metro coaches said lack of representation at this year's state tournament is a cyclical thing.

'We don't have the top individuals, but we're just a year away from having had Maddy Bertsch from Xavier and MJ Kamin from Washington and Grace Winker from Xavier,” Washington Coach Denny Goettel said. 'Most of the good players in the Metro are young and getting better.

'I think Sierra Hargens is going to be a very good player next year, and she wasn't bad this year.”