Newton girls claim second straight 4A regional golf championship

Their scores at the turn were as miserable as the weather conditions they were playing in Tuesday, but all that didn’t deter Newton High’s Cardinal girls from their goal.

Playing on their home golf course, the Cardinals improved their scores on the back nine holes to win a second consecutive Class 4A Regional Championship. They earned their third trip to the Iowa Class 4A State Girls’ Golf Tournament in three years.

“I can only chalk this one up to a positive mindset by our girls,” said Scott Enyart, Newton head coach. “We wanted to be there and wanted to play, despite the weather.”

The Cardinals won the team championship by 11 strokes. Newton posted a four-player total of 385 at Westwood Golf Course while Adel-DeSoto-Minburn finished second at 396. The top two teams advance to the state tournament.

Grinnell’s Sarah Frischmeyer was the regional medalist with an 84 for the 18-hole event. Madison Hance of Creston shot an 86 for second place. The top five individual scores advance to the state meet.

Newton junior Jessica Reynolds struggled on the front nine, shooting a 49. A par on No. 9 started her on a quick turnaround. Reynolds shot the lowest nine-hole round of the day — 38 — on the back nine at Westwood.

Reynolds finished third overall with an 87 followed by ADM’s Lexi Owen with a 90. Aanna Roslien of Pella and Madison Houge of Ballard tied for fifth at 92.

“Jessica tied her personal-best nine-hole total with the 38. That par on No. 9 helped her get things started back in the right direction,” Enyart said. “Shelbey Cochran posted her worst nine-hole total (55) of the season on the front nine, then had her best nine-hole total (43) of the season. It was determination and perseverance on her part.”

Cochran, a senior, finished with a 98. She had two pars on the day and recorded the only birdie by a Newton golfer. It came on No. 16.

Junior Cydney Hillyard had a steady go of it on the day, but did improve by two strokes on her second nine holes. She shot a round of 48 and a round of 46 for a 94. Hillyard had five pars on the day.

Senior Abby Jolivette rounded out the team scoring for the Cardinals with a 106 on rounds of 52 and 54. Enyart said Jolivette fought hard throughout the day, finishing with pars on No. 9 and No. 10.

Emily Fitzgerald had a 109 (54-55) and Jessie Smith carded a 118 (63-55).

“All six girls will play at the state tournament. They’ve worked hard all year long to reach this goal,” Enyart said. “They did work before the season and extra work throughout the season.”

The other team scores from the regional were: Creston 406, Grinnell 416, Pella 418, Norwalk 432, Knoxville 449, Carlisle 455, Ballard 457, Dallas Center-Grimes 469, Perry 554 and Winterset 586.

Enyart said they delayed tee times to 10:30 a.m. to give the Westwood grounds crew time to mow the greens and get the course in shape to play after all the rain.

“Nick Cummins, the superintendent, and his crew did a tremendous job getting the course ready for us. Brad Sponseller, the course golf pro, did a great job hosting the tournament,” Enyart said. “We played in a pretty steady heavy drizzle thoughout the morning.”

Newton heads back to the 4A state tournament. The Cardinals finished third at state in 2014 and sixth in 2013. The 2015 4A state tournament is Monday and Tuesday at the American Legion Golf Course in Marshalltown. Tee time for both days of the 36-hole event is 9 a.m.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com