AMES — The competitive side of Nevada’s Parker Rodgers and the Gilbert boys golfers may have been upset with only getting to compete for one day during the Class 3A boys state golf tournament.
The meet was scheduled to take place Monday and Tuesday at the Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames, but Tuesday’s competition was canceled due to a major thunderstorm that came through the area. Rodgers and the Gilbert boys badly wanted to compete on Day 2, but they will take the performances they put together on Monday.
Rodgers ended up placing third individually in 3A as a freshman, and the Gilbert boys took fourth as a team to give them four top-five finishes at state in a row.
Rodgers shot a 1-under-par 18-hole round of 71 on Monday. Rodgers won a card-back for third after finishing in a three-way tie with MOC-Floyd Valley’s Carson Korver and defending 3A individual champion Roman Roth of Washington for the third-lowest score of the tournament.
“It feels good,” said Rodgers. “I wish I could have done a little better, but you’ll take it and use it as fuel as you move on.
Over Holes 1-9, Rodgers turned in a double-bogey, a bogey, five pars and three birdies. He shot bridies on Holes 10 and 11, went for par on the next two holes, had a pair of bogeys, then went birdie, par, birdie.
“Not only does he have a beautiful swing and positive attitude, but mentally he was incredible yesterday,” said Nevada coach Michael Davidson. “This is a tough stage to stay focused, and he stayed very calm under pressure situations.”
Rodgers is looking forward to a summer of competing in tournaments for the American Junior Golf Association and Iowa PGA.
“My swing is where it needs to be,” Rodgers said. “I feel like can win something big this summer.”
His coach sees a huge upside for him over the rest of his high school career.
“He’s got all the pieces to win a state championship over the next three years,” Davidson said. “I’m very proud of him and honored to be his coach.”
Adel-Desoto-Minburn’s Easton Korell was the 3A medalist after shooting an impressive 6-under-par round of 66 on Monday. Solon’s Isaiah Zoske was runner-up with a 68.
Gilbert boys keep on rolling
After back-to-back 3A state titles in 2021 and 2022, the Gilbert boys placed third in 2023 and then took fourth at this year’s state meet.
The Tigers shot a 318 as a team over 18 holes on Monday to edge Washington by three strokes for fourth out of nine teams. ADM won the 3A team title with a 304, Waverly-Shell Rock was second with a 307 and MOC-Floyd Valley came in third with a 311.
“I think in the end they felt pretty good,” said Gilbert coach Holly Lester. “They would’ve liked to come out today (Tuesday) and maybe climbed to the third spot, but this is a good spot to be.”
Gilbert needed good scores from everyone to make it to state after placing second during the 3A sectional meet at the Wildcat Golf Course in Shellsburg on May 8, and third at the 3A district meet at the Waverly Municipal Golf Course in Waverly on May 13.
“Sectionals went to the sixth golfer to advance,” Lester said. “Every shot and score counted.”
At state, Gilbert had two golfers place in the top 20 and two more finish in the top 30 to earn its fourth-place score.
Senior Joey Currans led the way by winning a card-back for seventh after shooting a 4-over-par round of 76. It was the third time in four years Currans placed in the top 10 at state, but the first time he managed to earn himself a medal.
“I finally won the card-back,” said Currans. “That’s one of the goals…to medal. I would’ve liked to get the chance to move up the leaderboard, but it feels good to get top seven at state.”
Senior Ian Roske stepped up to shoot a 79 and finish in a three-way tie for 17th. Junior Ryan Lynch carded a 9-over 81 to tie for 23rd and senior Zachary Wilson — a fifth-place finisher at last year’s state meet — tied for 26th with and 82 to complete the scoring for Gilbert.
Juniors Logan Youngberg and Hudson White also competed for Gilbert. Youngberg tied for 34th with an 84 and White tied for 42nd with an 85.
Gilbert will miss Currans, Roske and Wilson next season. But the Tigers still plan on being a force in 3A as they go for their fifth-straight state appearance in 2025.
“It’s just cool to be part of a culture like this,” Currans said. “There were a lot of people going until the sun goes down, and it was cool to be a part of it.”
Final 3A team scores (18 holes): 1. ADM 304, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock 307, 3. MOC-Floyd Valley 311, 4. Gilbert 318, 5. Washington 321, 6. Marion 326, 7. Pella 329, 8. Knoxville 331, 9. Humboldt 355.
Class 3A individual medal winners: 1. Easton Korell (ADM) 66, 2. Isaiah Zoske (Solon) 68, 3. (tie) Parker Rodgers (Nevada), Carson Korver (MOC-Floyd Valley) and Roman Roth (Washington) 71, 6. Evan Smith (Knoxville) 75, 7. (tie) Joey Currans (Gilbert), Wesley Hubbard (Waverly-Shell Rock) 76.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Parker Rodgers, Gilbert finish in the top four at 3A boys state golf
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