Jefferson Boys Golf

Lehmkuhl shares medalist honors at Linn-Mar quad

Eric Lehmkuhl of Cedar Rapids Jefferson fired an even-par 36 Monday to share medalist honors at a Mississippi Valley Conference quadrangular golf meet at Hunters Ridge.

Lehmkuhl shared top honors with Tim Richter of Waterloo West.

Waterloo West won the team title with 150 strokes, followed closely by Jefferson (158), Linn-Mar (158) and Xavier (159). Jefferson was awarded second place on a tiebreaker.

Trevor Berry led Linn-Mar with a 2-over-par 38. John Drahozal shot a 38 for Xavier.

WATERLOO WEST (150): Tom Richter 36, Austin Jackson 37, Will Shiney 38, Nick Rafferty 39, Sam Richter 43, Jace Holton 45, Parker Johnson 50.

JEFFERSON (158): Eric Lehmkuhl 36, Mitch Willems 39, Zach Denny 41, Gavin Williams 42, Colten Jourdan 42, Ben Otis 46, Mike Loboda 47.

LINN-MAR (158): Trevor Berry 38, Clay Vieth 39, Kyle Hackett 39, Trevor McCann 42, Tyler McCann 43, Mark Drake 43, Elliott Siefert 47.

XAVIER (159): John Drahozal 38, J.P. King 40, Jason Beer 40, Ben Sagers 41, Rob Thinnes 43, Mitch Keller 43, Matt Junge 44.

Deafness is no handicap for Jefferson golfer

Jefferson golf coach Steve Koepke has a ready illustration of Eric Lehmkuhl’s knack for rallying his team in challenging situations.

Recalling a brutal 18-hole tournament at Finkbine last season, he says, “It was so windy not even Mary Poppins would have wanted to be on the course. Only a handful of golfers even broke 80. Eric shot a 74. It was phenomenal.”

What made it even more remarkable was that the cochlear implant Lehmkuhl has worn since he was a toddler to counter his congenital deafness magnifies the sound of the wind, creating a distraction that would annoy the most focused of golfers.

It wasn’t the only time Lehmkuhl has stepped up to lead his team, Koepke says.

“He won my Clutch Award last year, because he really did come up clutch a number of times. How an athlete behaves under pressure at a big-time meet tells you what kind of a player he is. He’s not just someone who plays golf. He’s a golfer, and he could be a really good one.”

Currently pacing his team with a 39.6 scoring average, the senior says he never expected to lead Jeff’s golf squad. After all, baseball was always his sport. He has played it competitively since grade school.

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J-Hawks 6th at Cedar Falls Invy

CEDAR FALLS - Cody Bell fired an even-par 72 Friday to help Kennedy place second in the Tiger Invitational at the Beaver Hills Country Club in Cedar Falls.

Broc Everett shot a 2-under-par 70 to lead West Des Moines Valley to the title in the nine-team tournament. Bell finished second in the individual standings.

Valley finished with 298 shots, beating Kennedy by nine strokes.

J.P. King shot a 2-over-par 74 as the Xavier Saints finished in fourth place. Zach Denny shot a 4-over 76 as the Jefferson J-Hawks placed sixth.

Trevor Berry and Mark Drake shot 79s to help the Linn-Mar Lions finish in fifth place.

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J-Hawks 4th in Valley division meet

WATERLOO - Xavier had four players finish among the top six and took control of the MVC Valley Division lead Monday at Gates Park.

J.P. King finished second, Matt Junge and Jason Beer finished in a three-way tie for third and Ben Sagers tied for sixth as Xavier won the second leg of the three-tourney series that determines the division champions.

Xavier posted a 306 that was 12 strokes better than second-place Cedar Falls. The Saints entered the meet in second place, one stroke behind Hempstead and one ahead of Cedar Falls. They now hold a 13-stroke lead over the second-place Tigers and are 16 clear of Hempstead, which finished third Monday with a 323.

Jefferson was fourth, Prairie fifth, Iowa City West sixth and Waterloo East a distant seventh. Those teams hold those same places in the overall standings.

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