Spartans just miss top-3 at state after Saturday surge

   MARSHALLTOWN – Though the Grundy Center boys’ golf team fell short of a team goal at the Class 1A state golf meet last weekend, there were many signs that the future remains bright for Spartans golf.
   Grundy Center shot 21 strokes better than their 336 total on Friday, but ultimately could not catch third-place Winfield-Mt. Union, sitting outside the top three by two strokes with a 651 two-day total at the end of Saturday at American Legion Memorial Golf Course in Marshalltown.
   Jake Bangasser led the Spartans individually, tying for 12th with a 156 (80-76), and Jesper Holke-Farnam finished his Spartan golfing career with a 158 (80-78).
   In fact, four of the five golfers who competed on Friday shot better on Saturday, and even Braidan Buhrow was only one stroke worse on Saturday, with a 181 total (90-91).
   But Grundy Center head coach Dennis Dirks acknowledged that the opening-day hole was too big to dig out of.
   “We had a really sluggish first day,” Dirks said. “It could have been a combination of Jesper and Jake pressing themselves too hard to post a great score, along with the inexperience of our other four who had never played on the state tournament stage.
   “Nevertheless, from a coaching standpoint, I couldn’t be prouder of this team. To think where this team started some 60 days ago and then finish as one of the elite teams in the state is unbelievable. … It was satisfying as a coach to observe the passion and enthusiasm they had for the game.”
   The full story appears in the June 1 Grundy Register.
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D-NH's Weber 20th at 2A state golf
   FORT DODGE – Dike-New Hartford senior Royce Weber finished his high-school golfing career with a two-day total of 151, placing 20th as an individual at the Class 2A boys state golf tournament at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge last Friday and Saturday.
   While it was a spot lower than his 19th-place finish last season, Weber shaved five strokes off last year’s score of 156.
   Weber shot a five-over-par 77 round on Friday and followed it with a 2-over 74 on Saturday.
   New Hampton’s Carter Stochl was the meet medalist with a two-day total of 140 (72-68).