GIRLS’ GOLF: Rams show improvement at HOIC meet in State Center

By BRANDON HURLEY

Sports Editor
sports@beeherald.com

The Greene County girls’ golf team has dealt with the grueling mind gams fairly well.

The Rams showed remarkable improvement in the 2021 Heart of Iowa Conference meet May 5 in State Center, securing a pair of top 25 individual performers.
The rise and fall of the West Marshall’s home course dealt its fair share of body shots, but as a whole, the Rams stood tall and responded with a valiant effort.

Though Greene County finished sixth out of seven at the Lincoln Valley Golf Course, head coach Josh Carlson was pleased with the performance, citing a much-improved squad from opening day.

“I’m so proud of all of these girls for putting in the time and effort that they do in meets and in practice,” the coach said. “It is really special to see the growth that has taken place in such a short amount of time with these girls and their game.
We will continue to work towards better scores and stronger finishes in events like these in the future.”

Alex Miller finished 14th with an 18-hole score of 104 sparking the Rams to a sixth place finish as a team. Miller recovered nicely from an opening nine score of 56 to card a 48 on the back nine, just her second nine hole score in the 40s this spring. Miller wrapped up her round on the par 5 ninth hole, rolling in an eagle on the 344-yard hole.

Second-ranked Kaitlyn Rahfeldt of Roland-Story (2A) secured Heart of Iowa Conference medalist honors with an 18-hole score of 84. Teammate Makenna Carlson finished runner-up with an 88. The Norse secured a trio of golfers inside the top five while they placed all four of their athletes in the top 12. Ellie Erickson finished fourth (95) while Ally Ringsby slid into 11th (102). Nevada’s Ashlynn Sporrer snagged a bronze medal with a 94. Erickson and South Hamilton’s Miranda Deppe (95) rounded out the top five.
Third-ranked Roland-Story (2A) ran away with the team crow, securing a total score of 369, a mind-numbing 36 strokes in front of runner-up Nevada (405).

South Hamilton (410) squeaked out a third place finish in front of tournament host West Marshall (411). Saydel finished fifth with a score of 469 while PCM took the final spot with a total score of 527.

Greene County’s Bri Habben continued her growth last week, securing an 18-hole score of 113, which placed her 23rd overall. The junior carded a back nine score of 52, which was 13 strokes better than her first-ever competitive round earlier this spring.
Afton Funcke carded Greene County’s third-best round of the day, turning in an 18-hole score of 132, besting her top nine hole score of her career by four strokes with a back nine total of 64. Kathryn Beaman’s 18-hole score of 137 put a nice wrap on Greene County’s top four golfers, showing marked improvement during her first season of competitive golf.

Josey Weaver was the fifth Ram in attendance last week, firing off scores of 71 and 70 for a total tally of 141.

The Rams will open Class 3A regional play Monday, May 24 at Majestic Hills Golf Course in Denison along with Bishop Heelan, Carroll High, Gilbert, Harlan, LeMars, MOC-Floyd Valley, Nevada, Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Sioux Center and Spencer.