KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Talking to Iola High’s golfers following Monday’s 2012 Kansas Class 4A State Golf Tournament, each one had a different reason or could pinpoint just where things went awry for them.
But what went right for the Mustangs is they were the first IHS team to compete in a state tournament since the 1980s. The 2012 edition of the IHS golf team finished seventh Monday.
Iola had two state tournament medalists. Freshmen Shane Walden and Kaden Macha ended up in a six-way tie for 16th and walked away with medals.
Macha opened the day with a 38 on the front nine of the Dub’s Dread Golf Club course. Walden shot a 43 just ahead of Macha.
On the back nine, Walden would put together a round of 38 while Macha shot a 43. They finished with 81s.
Freshman Drake Dieker ended up 60th in the field of 106 golfers. Dieker along with freshman Isaiah Grover and seniors Kris Collins and Zach Crawford played the back nine — holes 10 through 18 — first.
Dieker carded an 88 (46-42) and Grover finished with a 95 (51-44) for 86th place. Collins and Crawford shot identical rounds of 47 and 49 for 96 and were 90th and 91st.
Tonganoxie senior Colby Yates turned in a three-under par performance to captured the 4A individual championship. Yates shot rounds of 36 and 33 for a 69 on the par 72 course.
Piper High’s Parker Miller was one over par at 73 (38-35) for second medalist. Miller led the Piper Pirates to the team championship with a four-man total of 312.
Tonganoxie was second with a 313. Holton earned the third-place team trophy with a 323.
The Mustangs finished with a 345 for seventh place. There were 12 full teams playing in the state tournament.
Macha had a rocky start to the state tournament as he bogeyed his first four holes. He recovered with a couple of birdies to be just two over (38) after the first nine.
“My driver was the best club in my bag today. I was smoking it with the driver,” Macha said. “My head tripped me up today. I just didn’t think the whole round.”
Walden said, and the others agreed, that it did help that most of them had at least one if not two or three practice rounds on Dub’s Dread before Monday’s state tournament. Several played a round on Thursday then again Friday. The whole team played a practice round over the weekend.
“My putter was my best club. I was reading the breaks on the greens pretty well,” Walden said. “But I wasn’t striking the ball as well with my irons.”
