Koberg captures CRANDIC crown

MARION - Conner Koberg was leader of the field, but his tone sounded more like he was chasing the leader.The Cedar Rapids Kennedy golfer has high standards and posted the lowest score in his latest performance.Koberg carded and even-par 72 to capture medalist honors at the annual CRANDIC boys' golf meet Monday at Gardner Golf Course. He helped guide the Cougars to the team title with a total of 299, which is six shots better than runner-up Cedar Rapids Washington.Koberg was two shots better than the rest of the field."It was still a good round," Koberg said. "I guess my misses were a little bit better today than normal. I kept it around par the whole round."Kennedy Coach Mark Wilden said Koberg is harder than necessary on himself. He is driven to improve each time he holds a club. It has worked, considering his experience is limited."He's still young," Wilden said. "He's still learning. It's just his fourth year playing golf."He seemed like a veteran with his score on the front. The consistency in his game was on display. Koberg avoided bogey, earning two birdies and seven pars. He was under par on the par-5 No. 6 and the par-3 eighth hole, coming in at 2-under 34.Koberg mastered the par-3 holes, getting birdies on the two on the back nine and shooting 3-under on four total. He admitted he left a lot of shots on the course, tallying 33 putts. He did, however, was encouraged by sticking a 30-yard bunker shot within five feet of the pin on the par-5 N0. 2, because he has tried to improve that aspect of play."The key for me is I hit a lot of greens," said Koberg, who said he managed the hot temperatures by drinking lots of water and eating protein bars between holes. "I didn't make a lot of putts but I hit greens and came around at even."The Cougars, last year's Class 4A state runner-up, demonstrated its depth and talent yet again. All six Kennedy golfers shot 79 or better. Davis Sutton tied for second with 74. Seth Nutt, the team's No. 5 player, scored 76 and Ross Grekoff had 77."It's god for all of us to be in the 70's," Wilden said. "You always like that as a coach."The CRANDIC title was a nice accomplishment, but bigger victories to gain. Last year, they were closer to a state championship than a CRANDIC crown. The Cougars are looking to peak in the postseason, and this shows they are moving in the right direction."We have goals," Wilden said. "The way you meet those is by reaching for smaller steps and doing the little things."The Warriors were solid, edging third-place Cedar Rapids Xavier by two strokes. Jake Patterson paced Washington with 2-over 74. He finished in a three-way tie for runner-up honors, shooting 1-under on the back nine. Evan Jankwietz placed fifth for Washington. Dominic Rodriguez, Frank Lindwall and Max Claassen all shot 78 to fill the final two scorer spots.The Saints had a strong start. Kellen Gray shot 74 and Matt Junge gave them a second top-nine finisher, scoring 77. Ben Sager and John Ingwersen each shot 78.

CRANDIC MEET

At Gardner Golf Course

(Par 72)

Teams - 1. C.R. Kennedy 299, 2. C.R. Washington 305, 3. C.R. Xavier 307, 4. Linn-Mar 317, 5. Iowa City West 321, 6. C.R. Jefferson 327, 7. C.R. Prairie 329, 8. Iowa City High 345.

Individuals - 1. Conner Koberg (CRK), 72, 2. (tie) Kellen Gray (CRX), Davis Sutton (CRK) and Jake Patterson (CRW), 74, 5. Evan Jankwietz (CRW), 75.

C.R. Kennedy (299): Koberg 72, Sutton 74, Seth Nutt 76, Ross Grekoff 77

C.R. Washington (305): Patterson 74, Jakwietz 75, Dominic Rodriguez 78, Frank Lindwall 78, Max Claassen 78

C.R. Xavier (307): Gray 74, Matt Junge 77, Ben Sagers 78, John Ingwersen 78

Linn-Mar (317): Brent Larson 77, Elliott Siefert 79, Trevor McCann 80, Jake Sevcik 81

I.C. West (321): Noah Federici 76, J.D. Goodfellow 76, Grant Higgins 83, Chad Rubin 86

C.R. Jefferson (327): Mitch Willems 77, Zach Denny 80, Adam van Oort 83, Jake van Oort 87

C.R. Prairie (329): Cal Clark 81, Mitch Lorenz 82, Colin Vondracek 83, Cooper Reittinger 83

City High (345): Brady Swenning 81, Braxton Bell 86, Skylar Franklin 89, Michael Noack 89