Finishing fourth among 12 teams, the West Liberty High School boys’ golf team was just 28 strokes behind the winning team and used some young talent to finish strong in the annual West Liberty Invitational held at the West Liberty Golf & Country Club on Tuesday April 26.
The Comets of coach Nick Frenz finished with a team total 362 behind first place West Branch, which shot a 334 to win the event. The talented Bears, which claimed the state title a year ago, was just one stroke ahead of Tipton and five strokes better than Clear Creek Amana.
Camanche finished in a tie for fifth at 378 with Winfield-Mt. Union while Wilton followed at 380, Iowa City Regina had 381 strokes and North Cedar finished at 387. Durant followed at 391 while Wapello and Mid-Prairie both shot in the 400’s.
West Branch was led by a second place 80-stroke performance by Dylan Countryman as five Bears finished in the top eight places in the field, which was claimed by medalist Bob Ryan of Tipton, who shot a 78.
Tipton’s Tristin Sorgenfry tied for second place with an 80 total and Tipton had two other players, Brady Conner and Kole Meyer finish at 88 and 89 respectively to take ninth and 10th place.
Colin Cassady was the best finisher for West Liberty, taking 11th by hitting an 80 for the day while freshman Cael Daufeldt marked a 93 and finished in 15th place. Shane Elder had a 99 for West Liberty while Morgan Lehman finished at 98. Ty Jones finished at 96 for the Comets while Preston Daufeldt turned in a 97.
The team ends their regular season this Monday in a dual meet with Wilton beginning at 4 p.m. at West Liberty Golf & Country Club.
Comet girls compete
In play for the West Liberty High School girls golf team, coach James Laughlin’s team competed in a triangular with West Branch and Mid-Prairie on Monday, May 2, at West Liberty Golf & Country Club.
Although the Comets didn’t have enough varsity players to compete, West Branch won with a team total of 204 strokes while Mid-Prairie finished just five strokes back at 209.
Claire Jarrett of West Branch shot a 43 to earn Medalist honors for the meet while the runner-up was Madelyn Bender of Mid-Prairie, finishing the nine holes at 49.
Aly Harned finished with a 51 for the Comets to take third place in the meet while Mylei Henderson turned in a 59 for the Comets for 11th place. Addy Beaver also had a 64 for West Liberty in the match to beat out two other golfers.
The West Liberty girls’ golf team hit the course, featuring a dual against Durant Monday, taking on Tipton and Regina at Pleasant Valley Golf Course Wednesday and competing at the Durant Invitational Friday at Wahkonsa.
On Monday, the Comets took on the Wildcats in a conference Dual at Wahkonsa Golf Course. The Comets were led by Aly Harned, who shot a 53 overall, good enough for a third-place finish.
She was joined by teammates Mylie Henderson, who turned in a 57, and Addison Beaver, shooting 69.
Durant's Karissa Hoon led all scorers in the contest, shooting a 48 overall, leading her team to a 210 overall score.
On Wednesday, the Comet girls took to Pleasant Valley Golf course for a triangular meet against Tipton and Durant.
The Comets fielded three competitors and were led by Mylie Henderson, shooting a 54 for the Comets. Aly Harned put together a 57 in her efforts that day and Addison Beaver shot a 74.
The Comets were unable to field enough golfers to collect a team score, with Tipton shooting 246 and Regina 258
On Friday, the Comets returned to Wahkonsa to participate in a nine-team event. Williamsburg's Jaisel Bott won the event with an 85 overall, lifting Williamsburg to the top of the team leaderboard. shooting 371 overall for the 18 holes. The Comet trio were led by an 11th place finish by Harned with a 101, while Henderson turned in a 108 to finish in the top 25 and Beaver marked a 114.
The Comets will end their season with a 10-team meet Friday in Tipton beginning at noon, a dual against Wilton Monday beginning at 4 p.m. and a Quad in West Branch Tuesday beginning at 3:30 p.m.