Consistency is key in the game of golf. Just ask Morgan Rupp, the Linn-Mar sophomore whose steady play led to her winning the Class 4A individual state golf title on Friday.
Rupp shot a 2-under 140 this week to win large-class medalist honors at Otter Creek Golf Course in Ankeny, carding back-to-back 70s on Thursday and Friday. That consistency led to a 1-shot victory over Cedar Rapids Washington’s Jane Petersen.
Petersen, another sophomore, held a 2-shot lead after a 3-under 68 in Thursday’s opening round, during which she collected five birdies in an eight-hole span and finished with six total for the day-one lead.
But Petersen couldn’t conjure that same magic Friday, finishing with three bogeys — including two on holes she birdied Thursday — and ultimately carded a 2-over 73 to finish 1-under (141) for the tournament.
That allowed Rupp, who tied for fifth last year, to inch ahead. She countered a double-bogey on the Par-4 No. 14 with three birdies for a 1-under 70 on Thursday. On Friday, she bogeyed the Par-4 No. 1, then birdied Nos. 9 and 15 for another 1-under 70.
Rupp is Linn-Mar’s first individual girls state golf champion. Behind Petersen, Pleasant Valley’s Maura Peters (2-over 144), Burlington’s Lauren Briggs (3-over 145), and West Des Moines Valley’s Hallie Yates (5-over 147) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Peters was the leading individual in Pleasant Valley’s team title-winning performance. The Spartans shot a collective 641, beating second-place Cedar Rapids Washington by 17 strokes to win the first girls state golf team championship in school history.
Behind Peters, Isabella Steele finished sixth, with a 6-over 148, and Elliana Danielsen and Anna Weinberger both finished inside the top-40 overall. Cedar Rapids Washington finished with a team score of 658, followed by W.D.M. Valley, third with 663.
Class 3A: Gilbert’s Eden Lohrbach shot a 1-under 143 to win her second individual Class 3A state golf title at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls on Friday.
Lohrbach, the state champ in 2021 and runner-up last year, carded a 2-under 70 on Thursday and a 1-over 73 on Friday to win by five strokes. She is only a junior, too.
Clear Lake’s Rebecca DeLong finished second, with a 4-over 148, followed by teammate Meghan DeLong, third with a 10-over 154. Lisbon’s Kaylie Kelchen and Washington’s Kaylin Long tied for fourth with a 13-over 157.
Lohrbach’s individual performance led Gilbert to the Class 3A team title. The Tigers collectively shot 653, beating second-place Dubuque Wahlert by 19 shots to win the first girls state golf team title in school history.
Wahlert finished second at 672, followed by third-place Clear Lake (676), fourth-place Washington (688) and fifth-place Cedar Rapids Xavier (696).
Class 2A: Sumner-Fredericksburg’s Chloe Bolte repeated as the Class 2A girls state golf champion with a two-day score of 10-over 152 at American Legion Golf Course in Marshalltown on Friday.
Last year, Bolte won a playoff to secure an individual state title. This week, she beat the field by 10 strokes, securing a 4-shot lead with a 4-over 75 on Thursday, then sealing the deal with a 6-over 77 on Friday.
Mediapolis’ Olivia Hines took second, with a 20-over 162. She edged both Tipton’s Paycee Sorgenfrey and Roland-Story’s Makenna Carlson, who tied for third at 21-over 163, by a single stroke. Sioux Central’s Kendra Casey took fifth with a 22-over 164.
Thanks to top-10 finishes from Carlson and Brinley Carlson, Roland-Story won the 2A state team championship, with a collective 723. The Norse beat second-place West Marshall by eight strokes (731). New Hampton took third with 737.
Class 1A: Grundy Center’s Abbie Lindeman claimed the individual Class 1A state golf title with a two-day score of 15-over 159, beating New London’s Taylor Phillips, the runner-up, by a single stroke at Boone’s Cedar Pointe Golf Course on Friday.
Lindeman trailed Phillips by two strokes after shooting an 8-over 80 on Thursday, but rallied with a 7-over 79 on Friday while Phillips carded a 10-over 82, giving Lindeman a one-stroke victory, 159-160.
Behind Lindeman and Phillips, Bishop Garrigan’s Avery Lichter took third, with a 24-over 168, followed by Nashua-Plainfield’s Paige Franzen (fourth, 30-over 174) and Riverside’s Addison Brink (fifth, 33-over 177).
Led by Lindeman, Grundy Center won the Class 1A team championship, the 15th in school history but first since 2015, with a collective score of 706. They cruised over second-place New London (729) and third-place West Branch (771).
Cody Goodwin covers wrestling and high school sports for the Des Moines Register. Follow him on Twitter at @codygoodwin.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Girls Golf: PV, Gilbert, Sumner-Fred, Grundy Center win state team titles