HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM: Catching up with Xavier girls' golf

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By Daniel Vega, Xavier senior

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Xavier girls' golf team, which shined in a triangular at Airport National Golf Course earlier this month, is  ranked No. 1 in Class 4A.

The team blew away the competition after shooting a strong 157, which was 32 strokes ahead of the second-place team. Xavier beat Cedar Rapids Prairie, which shot a 189, and Cedar Rapids Jefferson, which shot 224.

The senior leadership proved advantageous for one of the state's top teams. Senior Grace Winker paved the way for the Saints after shooting a strong 36 through nine holes.

Future UNI Panther senior Maddie Bertsch drove, chipped and putted her way to a 37, just one stroke behind Winker.

'It was cool finishing first overall in the tournament,' Winker said. 'It gave Maddie and I hope for the rest of the year after finishing first and second.'

The Saints hosted a meet at St. Andrews Golf Course. Xavier competed against Iowa City West, Waterloo East and Cedar Rapids Jefferson on April 15.

Bertsch and Winker both shot 43, but it was not enough to beat  Iowa City West. The Trojans finished the meet at 183 and the Saints ended three strokes behind at 186.

Other top Xavier golfers included sophomore Catie Locher, who shot a 49, and senior Kara Zwanziger, who shot a 51.Xavier also won the CRANDIC meet on April 23, led by Bertsch's runner-up finish.