Golfers and teams to watch

Girls golfers

Megan Furnish, C.R. Jefferson, sr., Iowa High School Golf Coaches Association first-team all-state selection, all-Metro and all-Mississippi Valley Conference

Christy Nelson, Central City, sr., IHSGCA first-team all-state selection, placed third at 2011 Class 1A state meet

Taylor Van Dyk, South Tama, sr., IHSGCA second-team all-state pick, placed seventh at 2011 Class 3A state meet

Ellie Ament, Dyersville Beckman, sr., IHSGCA first-team all-state, Class 2A state runner-up

Maddie Bertsch, C.R. Xavier, so., tied for 19th at 2012 Class 4A state meet

Boys golfers

Nick Nelson, Decorah, sr., IHSGCA first-team all-state, tied for fourth at 2012 Class 3A state meet

Nico Costa, Anamosa, sr., Tied for 11th at 2012 Class 3A state meet, IHSGCA second-team all-state pick

Alex Thode, Washington (Iowa), sr., Tied for 11th at Class 3A state meet, IHSGCA second-team all-state selection

Drew Slings, Williamsburg, jr. Tied for 15th at Class 3A state meet, IHSGCA second-team all-state selection

C.R. Xavier: The Saints qualified for their first state meet last season, posting a 58-8 mark. They return some key components from the 2011 team that finished runner-up in the MVC Valley Division and CRANDIC.

Dyersville Beckman: The Blazers were fourth at the Class 2A state meet and have two of their top golfers back. Ellie Ament and Stephanie Coghlan provide a strong nucleus to build another strong season.

Linn-Mar: The Lions were 49-16 and competed at the Class 4A state meet, finishing second in the MVC Mississippi Division. Linn-Mar returns a lot of talent from last year, which featured a large freshman class.

HLV: HLV placed fourth at the Class 1A state meet last year. The Warriors are led by Iowa High School Golf Coaches Association all-state golfer Jenna Hansen and Taylor Tanner.

Belle Plaine: The Plainesmen have four state meet golfers return from their sixth-place finish in the 2011 Class 1A state meet. Logan Baburek, an IHSGCA second-teamer, emerged as a strong contributor last year and could be a leader this season.

Decorah: Expect the Vikings to continue its strong golfing tradition, powered by all-state golfer and state title contender Nick Nelson. Decorah returns all six state meet golfers, including senior Maynard Newhouse, that led the the Vikings to a third-place team finish.

Washington (Iowa): The Demons should be strong again. Washington is looking for its fifth straight top-five team showing at state. The Demons were second last year, five shots back. Alex Thode can give the Demons a low score every round.

Williamsburg: The Raiders have made two straight state tournament appearances and return half of their 2011 Class 3A state tournament squad that placed fourth. One of the top Wamac teams, Williamsburg is led by Drew Slings and Corbin Blythe.