There was nowhere to go but up for Grundy Center girls golf at this year’s state meet.

Finishing in last place as a team last year, the Spartans returned to the same course one year later and showed off how much their golf games have improved, jumping to fourth place in the Class 2A tournament at Cedar Pointe Golf Course in Boone last Thursday and Friday.

Grundy Center finished with a 705 (348-357) team score, almost 100 strokes better than the girls performed in Boone the year prior. 

“I was happy to see the girls sustain and continue to demonstrate that they’ve really improved in the last year,” Spartan head coach Heather Gutknecht said. “The group came in mentally ready to compete and under the pretenses of ‘let’s do what we can do and not worry about what we can’t do’.”

The Spartans were led by senior Avery Knutsen, notching an eighth-place finish with her two-day total of 164, starting with an 83 and coming in lower at 81 on day two. Knutsen shot a 194 last year on the Boone course.

“It was really nice to have a comeback after last year,” GC senior Avery Knutsen said, “and prove to myself what I could do in a very competitive setting while helping out the team. I figured out my driver, which was very helpful to get off the tee really well, my shots into the green were good, putting worked out well, it just all kinda clicked.”

---

---

Leah Larson was one stroke outside of the top 20 individuals, shooting a 173 over the course of the tourney. Holly Lubbert came in with a 181 total and Kahlynn Draper was the final counting score for the Spartans with a 36-hole total of 187. All four counting scorers were returners from last year’s team, and all four seniors improved their scores by at least 18 strokes, all the way up to Draper, who was a full 40 strokes better this time around.

“I’m really proud of what we’ve done, and how we’ve pushed from last year,” Larson said. “To get fourth as a team just shows how far we’ve come since last year.”

Three Spartans also made their state debut last week: Spartan freshman Reagan Pekarek shot a 196 total (94-102); Adalynn VanZuuk carded a 102 on Thursday and senior Lauren Strohbehn got to end her high school golf career at the state meet with a 101.

“Those girls really outdid themselves these last two weeks and really let loose,” Gutknecht said of the state newbies.

The week of state also provided one more opportunity for team bonding amongst the Spartans, including fun times between rounds in Boone.

“It’s always good to go out and have bonding time,” Larson said. “I even suggested to the girls that next year, this is something they should do together every week. It’s just good to talk about stuff together that you’re not talking about on the course.”

The team will look much different next year, but Gutknecht thinks this senior group broke the mold in many ways for Spartan girls golf’s rich history of appearances at the state meet.

“This group showed us there’s not one conventional path to being successful with golf,” Gutknecht said. “I think that opens the door for girls to believe in themselves in ways they didn’t before. And this group really connected with the underclassmen and created a great environment for the girls to feel welcome. And they did a great job of keeping their emotions in check with this being their last meet, modeling a lot of strength for our underclassmen.”

The Spartan seniors echoed that open-ended sentiment as a message to the future era of Spartan girls golfers.

“Just stay focused and have a love for the game,” Larson said. “Go out there and just try to have fun.”

Knutsen added: “Nothing is impossible. You can chunk your drive off the tee and still par the hole. Just keep working hard and put in hours and you’ll see yourself going up there.”

Like with the boys’ state meet, the North Iowa Cedar League was well-represented in the team standings, with Oelwein taking the team crown at 666 strokes and Sumner-Fredericksburg snagging bronze with a 698 team score, led by individual medalist Chloe Bolte of Sumner-Fredericksburg who retained her crown with a 1-under two-day total. New Hampton was second in the team standings at a 673 score. Jesup added a sixth-place finish as the fourth NICL school in the 10-team field.