Panthers win sectional title

     Monticello’s best attributes – depth and balance – came through in a big way as the Panthers won the Class 2A sectional championship during the meet played May 10 at the Dyersville Golf and Country Club.

     The Panthers shot 328 as a team to defeat Union by six strokes. Waterloo Columbus finished third with 347.

     Both Monticello and Union qualified for the district tournament, to be held Friday, May 17 at Fox Ridge in Dike, Iowa.

     Monticello won it because its top five scores ranged from 80 to 84. As a team, the Panthers shot 10 strokes better than they had at the same course, in similar conditions, a month earlier at the Dyersville Invitational.

     “We got back to what we’re used to seeing: real good balance,” Monticello coach Curt Tauke said.

     Justin Recker shot 80 to be medalist runner-up, by two strokes, to Josh Engler of Dyersville Beckman. Bo Kramer followed closely with an 81 to finish fourth, losing a cardback tie-breaker for the third spot.

     Connor Lambert shot 83, Hunter Kramer and Ty Kehoe each had 84, and Daltyn Kramer scored a 93.

     Tauke said the eight-team district meet will involve several teams with abilities similar to those of the Panthers. The top two teams from the meet will advance to the May 23-24 state tournament.

     “I don’t think the district has any one outstanding team,” Tauke said. “There are going to be a lot of teams with averages pretty close to ours.

     “Hopefully we can go there and compete like we have all year, and I think that puts us in the mix.”

River Valley

Conference Meet

     Prior to the sectional meet, the Panthers competed in the River Valley Conference Meet May 7 in Riverside, and finished fourth with a team score of 349. West Branch was the team champion with 324, Mid-Prairie shot 342, and Tipton had 347.

     “Overall it was a pretty solid performance,” Tauke said. “It came down to West Branch versus the rest of the conference. In hindsight, we probably weren’t going to catch West Branch, but it would have been nice to be as high as second. We did struggle a little bit to find a fourth score.”

     The top 23 golfers out of the 80 who played were selected for the River Valley All-Conference Team based on their scores. The top six made the Elite Team, finishers seven through 14 made the First Team, and finishers 15-23 were given Honorable Mention.

     Justin Recker shot 42-40–82 to finish sixth individually and earn Elite honors. Connor Lambert carded an 85 to make the First Team by finishing 11^th, and Hunter Kramer (17^th) was given Honorable Mention.

     “It was a tough day – it never got warm – but the kids hung in there. We didn’t have a very good first nine, but I was really happy with how they bounced back. It kind of looked like we were going to finish in the middle of the pack.”

May 7

River Valley Conf. Meet

(at Blue Top Ridge,

Riverside)

TEAM CARDS

     1, West Branch 324; 2, Mid-Prairie 342; 3, Tipton 347; 4, Monticello 349; 5, Iowa City Regina 359; 6, Wilton 360; 7, Durant 360; 8, Anamosa 368; 9, Northeast 379; 10, Cascade 385; 11, North Cedar 398; 12, Camanche 412; 13, Bellevue 424; 14, West Liberty incomplete.

MONTICELLO CARDS

     Justin Recker 42-40–82 (sixth place, Elite All-Conference), Connor Lambert 44-41–85 (11^th place, First Team All-Conference), Hunter Kramer 46-42–88 (17^th place, All-Conference Honorable Mention), Bo Kramer 47-47–94, Tyler Blattner 46-50–96, Daltyn Kramer 50-49–99. Medalist: Dylan Countryman, West Branch, 75.

May 10

Class 2A Sectional Meet

(at Dyersville)

TEAM CARDS

(Teams in bold advance to districts)

     1, Monticello 328; 2, Union 334; 3, Waterloo Columbus 347; 4, Dyersville Beckman 353; 5, Denver 359; 6, Cascade 373; 7, North Linn 415; 8, Jesup incomplete.

MONTICELLO CARDS

     Justin Recker 39-41–80 (medalist runner-up), Bo Kramer 41-40–81 (fourth place), Connor Lambert 41-42–83, Hunter Kramer 44-40–84, Ty Kehoe 43-41–84, Daltyn Kramer 44-49–93.