Cedar Rapids Washington’s Lily Belle Barker hits an approach shot after landing in a water hazard on the ninth hole at the Mississippi Valley Conference girls golf Super Meet at Ellis Park Golf Course in northwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Monday, April 29, 2024. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
CEDAR RAPIDS — They all showed up and showed out.
The Cedar Rapids Washington girls’ golf team showed the potential of its best lineup.
The Warriors had their top team available and carded a total of 322, winning the title at the Mississippi Valley Conference Super Meet on Monday at Ellis Golf Course. Washington topped runner-up Western Dubuque by eight strokes, while Linn-Mar’s Morgan Rupp shot 1-under 71 for medalist honors.
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“It’s nice to see them playing their game,” Washington assistant coach Ronnie Blocklinger said. “They’re having fun.”
The Warriors’ Mya Messenger placed third with 76 and Jane Petersen was two shots back for fifth. Messenger and Lily Belle Barker juggle both varsity golf and tennis in the spring, causing some scheduling conflicts.
Everybody was on hand.
“I think we have great potential and we’re firing on all cylinders and at full strength,” Messenger said. “We’ve all been working really hard over the winter.
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“It also helps that we’re a tight-knit group. We’ve brought everyone in and all were firing today on our A-Game.”
Good camaraderie and strong chemistry also play a big part in success. The relationships extend beyond rounds, putting greens and driving ranges. Petersen said her best friends are on the team and most of the golfers have fun together on the course.
“It’s not just best team score-wise,” Petersen said. “I think we have a great team connection. I love the girls.”
Messenger, listed as the team’s No. 3 golfer, led Washington this round. She tallied three birdies, including the Nos. 11 and 16 holes for an even-par 36 on the back nine.
Attention to her short game allowed her to perform well, despite the chilly and windy conditions.
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“I know my teammates and I have been out weekends and after practice and stayed late to focus on our short game — our putting and chipping,” Messenger said. “I really worked hard on that and focused on that today to convert on a lot of birdie putts and getting up and down better than I have been.
“I got up and down a lot on the back nine. I had a couple birdies that helped my round. I gave myself a little cushion to where if I did bogey I wouldn’t have too much stress.”
Washington’s Jane Petersen putts her ball on the green during the CRANDIC girls’ golf meet at Twin Pines Golf Course in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
Washington placed all four of its scorers in the top 15 of the individual standings. In addition to Messenger and Petersen in the top five, Barker posted an 83 for 12th and freshman Shaylin Munson rounded out the foursome with an 85.
“At this point, I think we can make a run for state,” said Petersen, who was the Class 4A state runner-up last season. “It’s just really exciting to have four scores and a fifth, if we need it, which is amazing.”
Linn-Mar’s Morgan Rupp is MVC Super Meet medalist
Linn-Mar’s Morgan Rupp follows her tee shot on the eleventh hole at the Mississippi Valley Conference girls golf Super Meet at Ellis Park Golf Course in northwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Monday, April 29, 2024. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
Rupp shared medalist honors with Messenger at the MVC Super Meet a year ago. She was the only golfer to break 75, sinking an 8-foot putt on her final hole and breaking par.
“The difference between even par and 1-under is quite a bit,” the Lions’ 2023 4A state champion said. “It feels like it’s more than one stroke, at least. I told myself to make this. End with a birdie and you’ll feel better about your round.”
It was the second of bookend birdies to her round. She birdied No. 16 to start the meet. She added two more on the front, notching birdies on the Nos. 5 and 9.
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Rupp won by four strokes over Iowa City Liberty’s runner-up Isabella Pettersen. The field had eight of the top 25 ranked golfers, according to Bound’s combined adjusted averages.
“I feel like this is a really good win for me,” Rupp said. “There are a lot of really good players in this meet. The field is stacked. I’m proud of the score I put up.”
Mississippi Valley Conference girls’ golf Super Meet
At Ellis Golf Course
(Par 72)
Teams – 1. C.R. Washington 322, 2. Western Dubuque 330, 3. Dubuque Wahlert 339, 4. Cedar Falls 340, 5. Linn-Mar 344, 6. C.R. Xavier 363, 7. Iowa City High 374, 8. Iowa City Liberty 375, 9. Dubuque Senior 381, 10. Waterloo West 390, 11. C.R. Prairie 406, 12. Iowa City West 415, 13. Dubuque Hempstead 417, 14. C.R. Kennedy 470, 15. C.R. Jefferson 471
OKOLONA, Miss. (WCBI) – Conversations between two teachers – in which they discussed “killing some folks” – at one Mississippi school district has prompted an investigation.
A student took pictures of the text messages reportedly sent back and forth between the two teachers at Okolona Middle School in Okolona, Mississippi, discussing children’s clothing, their parents’ financial hardships, and the sexual relations of another faculty member.
One of the messages reportedly even shows where the two teachers talk about “killing some folks.”
One message says, “Kill them all… I’ll help hide the bodies.”
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Okolona Superintendent Paul Moton said personnel matters are not discussed with the public, but believes that the actions of those teachers do not reflect the culture of the school district.
“Okolona is still the premium school district in Chickasaw County and thriving to be one of the best in North Mississippi. We still have a goal to be an A-rated district and this potentially isolated incident does not deviate us from our goals,” said Moton.
According to the superintendent, the incident is still under investigation.
A decision on whether action will be taken is expected to come next week.
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Showers and thunderstorms will continue today with highs in the upper 70s. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with more scattered showers and thunderstorms and lows in the mid-60s.
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Central Mississippi
There will be numerous showers and thunderstorms lasting through this evening, with some producing heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding. Highs today will be in the lower 80s, with lows tonight in the upper 60s.
Southern Mississippi
Showers and thunderstorms will continue through this evening, and some could produce heavy rainfall that leads to flash flooding, so be careful on the roads. Highs today will be in the mid-80s, with lows tonight near 70.
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The long ball was not enough to push the Missouri Tigers to a win against the No. 16 Mississippi State Bulldogs.
A three homer game gave the Tigers all of their runs and pushed them to a close game, but they couldn’t complete the comeback. Missouri dropped their third SEC game in a row, this one a 4-3 loss to Mississippi State. This loss officially eliminates the Tigers from a trip to Hoover for the SEC Tournament.
A solo home run in the second inning and a triple followed by a groundout in the third put Missouri down by two. Missouri would already have to fight from behind if they wanted a chance in the game.
The Tigers comeback was already mounting in the fourth inning when they brought themselves within one run. A solo shot from junior first baseman Danny Corona kicked off the scoring for Missouri.
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Mississippi State wasn’t going to make it easy on the Tigers, however. They got one run back in the fifth inning with a solo shot of their own to bring the difference back to two runs.
But Missouri didn’t seem content with that. They kicked off the sixth inning with back-to-back solo home runs from senior third baseman Trevor Austin and sophomore centerfielder Jackson Lovich. Despite being down initially, the Tigers had came back to tie the game and give themselves a chance.
But it didn’t last for long. Mississippi State retook the lead in the bottom half of the sixth after a walk, stolen base and a double pushed a runner across. This ended up being the deciding run for the game, as Missouri’s offense failed to bring another run across.
Missouri decided to send out junior right-hander Kaden Jacobi for his first start of his career in this game. He would do it against the No. 16 team in the country. Considering his opponents, he had quite a good start. He tossed three innings, giving up two runs on three hits. His main struggle came with the extra-base hits, such as the home run in the second inning and the triple in the third.
Jacobi was relieved by senior left-hander Ian Lohse in the fourth. He needed to keep the Tigers in the game and keep the Bulldogs from scoring, but gave up the go-ahead run in the sixth. Lohse threw three innings himself, with two runs on two hits. Junior Victor Quinn entered in the seventh.
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Missouri attempted to put graduate Jacob Peaden into the game to pitch in the seventh inning, but he was removed by the umpires after one pitch. It was said that Peaden could not pitch since he was not on the 27-man roster for the weekend. Another oddity for the Tigers squad was Lovich donning number 29 on his jersey, which belongs to junior Cameron Benson, instead of his usual 18.
Missouri’s record drops to 22-31 on the season and 8-20 in SEC play, while Mississippi State improves to 35-18 and 16-12. The Tigers will take the field for game two at 6 p.m. CT on Friday.
