Kennedy preps for postseason with MVC crown

CEDAR RAPIDS - The goal is to peak for the postseason, and Cedar Rapids Kennedy appears to be on track.

The approach has led to two straight Class 4A state runner-up finishes and has an accomplished group of seniors in contention for a state title.

'I think the scores are getting lower and more consistent, too, for the most part,” Kennedy's Conner Koberg said after shoot 72 for medalist honors in the final round of the Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Division meet Monday at Ellis Park Golf Course. 'We have four guys scoring and that's just what we need for next week. We've done a lot with our games to try to improve and play Hunters Ridge and (Tournament Club of Iowa) the best we can.”

The Cougars were fixed on extended its conference title streak, capturing the divisional team title with a three-round total of 894, They shot 300 on their home course Monday and pulled away for a 52-stroke overall advantage over runner-up Linn-Mar.

Kennedy had a commanded 39-shot lead heading into the final 18 holes, but in preparing for postseason success the Cougars wanted to distance themselves further from the field.

'The kids don't want to coast,” Kennedy Coach Mark Wilden said. 'We have to get ready for a week from today. They want to play well.”

The mantra has been to play their best in the final tournament of the season. Everything has led up to this moment and that is by design for the Cougars.

'It's easy for kids to get burned out, if you peak too early,” said Wilden, the divisional Coach of the Year. 'It's hard to maintain.”

Kennedy had no trouble maintaining its dominance in the MVC's Mississippi Division. Davis Sutton fired a 75, Tanner Stewart carded a 76 and Cole Murdock had 77 for the Cougars. Sutton's round gave him a 217 total, securing Mississippi Division Player of the Years for the second straight year.

'It means quite a bit, because there are some good players in our conference,” said Sutton, who placed sixth individually at state last year. 'It's something I want to get every year. It just means my game is in shape and getting ready for state.”

Wilden said Sutton has aspirations to play NCAA Division I golf and the accolade is another feather in his hat.

'This is good for him,” Wilden said. 'It's more ammunition to get that goal accomplished.”

Kennedy had all six golfers receive all-conference honors. Koberg was second overall to Sutton for the second straight year and was joined by third-place Cole Murdock on the first-team. Koberg managed the course, shooting 1-under par 35 on the narrow back nine at Ellis.

'If you hit it in the right spot, you're going to be all right,” said Koberg, the 2012 divisional Player of the Year. 'I missed three greens and made four bogeys, which is kind of a bummer. It just means my ball-striking went pretty well. Hopefully we can tighten up the short game.”

Stewart and Ross Grekoff were second-team honors and Seth Nutt was honorable mention for Kennedy. it is the second straight year all six Cougars grabbed conference honors and still the only program to achieve it.

'It's awesome,” Wilden said. 'I'm very proud of these guys and they work hard. They deserve everything they get.”

Linn-Mar finished second overall with a third-place performance Tuesday, shooting 313. Max Thrune and Jordan Bohannon led the Lions with third-round scores of 77. Trevor McCann posted 79 and Brent Larson added an 80. McCann and Thrune garnered second-team awards.

Iowa City West's J.d. Goodfellow placed himself on the division's first-team list, placing fourth overall with 230. He closed with a 77.

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY CONFERENCE

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

At Ellis Golf Course

(Par 72)

Final round

Teams - 1. C.R. Kennedy 300, 2. Dubuque Senior 305, 3. Linn-Mar 313, 4. Dubuque Wahlert 319, 5. (tie) Cedar Falls and Iowa City West 326, 7. C.R. Jefferson 358.

Individuals - 1. Conner Koberg (CRK), 72, 2. (tie) Jacob Kirman (DS) and Gus Zuccaro (DS), 73, 4. Davis Sutton (CRK) and Charlie Smith (DW), 75.

C.R. KENNEDY (300): Koberg 72, Sutton 75, Tanner Stewart 76, Cole Murdock 77.

LINN-MAR (313): Max Thrune 77, Jordan Bohannon 77, Trevor McCann 79, Brent Larson 80.

I.C. WEST (326): J.D. Goodfellow 77, Noah Federici 79, Joe Scott 84, Chris Mellinger 86

C.R. JEFFERSON (358): Adam VanOort 86, Nile Happel 86, Kellen Brown 93, Reid Griffith 93

OVERALL STANDINGS

Teams - 1. C.R. Kennedy 894, 2. Linn-Mar 946, 3. Dubuque Senior 953, 4. Dubuque Wahlert 964, 5. Iowa City West 987, 6. Cedar Falls 1,006, 7. C.R. Jefferson 1,107.

First-team all-division - 1. Davis Sutton (CRK), 217, 2. Conner Koberg (CRK), 225, 3. Cole Murdock (CRK), 227, 4. (tie) J.D. Goodfellow (ICW) and Jacob Kirman (DS), 230, 6. Charlie Smith (DW), 231.

Second-team all-division - 7. (tie) Trevor McCann (LM) and Tanner Stewart (CRK), 232, 9. Ross Grekoff (CRK), 234, 10. Ben Schmidt (DW), 236, 11. (tie) Max Thrune (LM) and Gus Zuccaro (DS), 238

Honorable mention - 13. Noah Federici (ICW), 240, 14. Jake Sevcik (LM) and Nick Psihoyos (DS), 241, 16. Seth Nutt (CRK), 242, 17. Louis Psihoyos (DS), 244, 18. Alec Weber (DW), 245.

Player of the year - Sutton (CRK)

Coach of the year - Mark Wilden and staff (CRK)

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