RVC, sectional meets end season for Monti


Kegan Arduser of Monticello chips onto the green at Saddleback Ridge in Solon during the River Valley Conference Meet May 9. (Photos by Pete Temple)

Trevor Beitz of the Panthers follows through on his tee shot at the conference meet.

Aaron Gearhart tees off for Monticello at the RVC meet.
BOYS GOLF
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Sports Editor

     Two big meets in three days brought a sudden end to the Monticello High School boys golf team’s 2017 season.

     The Panthers played in the River Valley Conference Meet Tuesday, May 9 at Saddleback Ridge in Solon; and followed that with the Class 2A sectional meet Thursday, May 11 at Guttenberg.

     In both cases, the Panthers shot team scores higher than they were hoping for, but there were some bright spots to come out of each meet.

     At the conference meet, Monticello finished 11th with a score of 367.

     “We were hoping to do a little better,” Monticello coach Curt Tauke said. “We were hoping to shoot about 10 strokes better, and try to finish somewhere in the middle of the pack. But we shot what we’ve been shooting all year.”

     A bright spot came from Kegan Arduser, who shot a 43-43–85 to lead the Panthers. He missed a spot on the River Valley honorable mention team by one stroke.

     Another was Trevor Beitz, who filled in as the team’s sixth golfer but finished fourth on the team with a 99.

     “It was good to see Trevor step up and play pretty well for us,” Tauke said.

     The South Division proved stronger than the North in this conference meet, recording seven of the top eight team scores.

     “The competition was good. For the most part there were some good scores,” Tauke said.

     West Branch won the team title, thanks in part to Trevor Thein, who shot a 33 on the front nine on the way to a 74. The Bears edged runner-up Wilton by two strokes.

      In the sectional tournament, May 11 at Guttenberg, Gearhart had a strong showing with an 82, good for sixth place. He did not advance to district play, however. The top two individuals from teams that didn’t advance were the individual qualifiers, and Gearhart was third on that list, three shots out of a district spot.

     As a team, the Panthers were seventh with 391. Jesup defeated Clayton Ridge on a fifth-player tie-breaker, but both advanced to districts.

     “There were no super strong teams,” Tauke said. “Had we had a really good day for us, we would have been in the mix.”

     The sectional meet ended the season for Monticello. Next year, the Panthers will return everyone except Gearhart, a senior.

     “It was a good year for Aaron,” Tauke said. “He was our top golfer in almost every meet.

     “We have a whole lot of room for improvement. Hopefully the guys will put the time in and work over the summer. We aren’t going to win a whole lot of meets if we don’t improve in the off-season.”

 

May 9

River Valley Conf. Meet

(at Saddleback Ridge,

Solon)

TEAM CARDS

     1, West Branch 320; 2, Wilton 322; 3, North Cedar 330; 4, Mid-Prairie 337; 5, Iowa City Regina 338; 6, Durant 339; 7, Tipton 348; 8, West Liberty 350; 9, Cascade 352; 10, Bellevue 357; 11, Monticello 367; 12, Camanche 371; 13, Northeast 425.

MONTICELLO CARDS

     Kegan Arduser 43-42–85, Aaron Gearhart 43-46–89, Nash Sutterman 46-48–94, Trevor Beitz 49-50–99, Daltyn Kramer 51-54–105, Kirklen Kiburz 53-57–110. Medalist: Race Cuckler, Cascade, 71.

 

May 11

Class 2A Sectional

(at Guttenberg)

TEAM CARDS

     1, Jesup 351*; 2, Clayton Ridge 351; 3, Dyersville Beckman 352; 4, Waterloo Columbus 355; 5, Bellevue 370; 6, Cascade 389; 7, Monticello 391; 8, Maquoketa Valley 479.

* – won by fifth-player rule

MONTICELLO CARDS

     Aaron Gearhart 41-41–82 (sixth place), Kegan Arduser 49-50–99, Nash Sutterman 44-59–103, Kirklen Kiburz 56-51–107, Daltyn Kramer 57-56–113; Trevor Beitz 60-53–113. Medalist: Jake Jensen, Clayton Ridge, 76.

 

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