Fairfield earns repeat eighth-place finish

AMES ? For the second straight season, the Fairfield boys? golf team wrapped up its postseason run with an eighth-place finish at the Class 3A state golf tournament.

Golfing against nine other teams at Ames Country Club, the Trojans shot a 336 Friday and a 340 Saturday to come up with a final score of 676. Fairfield went lower than both ninth-place Carroll (682) and 10th-place Iowa Falls-Alden (713).

?This was the one time we just weren?t able to rally and make a comeback,? said Fairfield head coach Mick Flattery. ?But I?m very proud of how they?ve done. They won a lot and beat a lot of good teams this season.?

Decorah easily won the 3A team title with a final tally of 616 after building a 13-stroke lead Friday. Clear Lake finished with the runner-up trophy after shooting 650, including a first round of 323 and second round of 327, and Humboldt came in third place with 653.

For the Trojans, it was the fourth time in the past six years they finished the spring season at the state meet. And the 2012 season was one of its best yet, as the team fought to a 51-13 record over the regular and postseason.

?If any high school sports program can say at the season-ending banquet that they?ve ended the year at the state tournament, it?s probably been a big year,? said Flattery. ?Even so, our guys were very disappointed in the final results, and I was disappointed for them ? not in them, for them ? because I know and they know they can do better.?

The Trojans finished with 14 birdies over the two-day tournament, including nine on Friday and five Saturday.

Seniors Davis Lowenberg and Cody Kool, both three-time state qualifiers and major reasons for the program?s recent success, finished their high school careers with their best-ever individual state finishes.

Lowenberg ended up sixth overall and second-team all-state with a 154 total, firing a 5-over-par 76 on Friday and 7-over-par 78 on Saturday. Last season, the senior finished 13th with a score of 157. Kool, who finished 31st at the state meet last season, moved up to 23rd overall with Fairfield?s next lowest score of 165.

Fairfield sophomores Matt Carr and Landon Gamrath rounded out the team score. Carr carded a two-day total of 178 to finish 51st overall, while Gamrath shot a 180 for 49th lowest. Alex Shier, another sophomore, shot a pair of 92 rounds to finish with an alternate score of 184. All three golfers figure to be back next season to form a strong core for Fairfield.

In addition to Kool and Lowenberg, the Trojans lose senior CJ Shipman, who finished the two-day weekend with a 189.

?We?re really going to miss those three seniors. Davis and Cody have always been competitive for us and CJ really came along as a senior,? Flattery said. ?But we?re looking for big things from our returning golfers next season.?

Centerville?s Alex Moorman led all individuals after day one with a score of 73, and the freshman then shot a 74 on Saturday to clinch the individual state title. Nick Nelson of Decorah and Lucas Boyd of Pella both shot 36-hole scores of 150 to finish second and third, respectively.

Final Team Standings - Class 3A

1. Decorah 616, 2. Clear Lake 650, 3. Humboldt 653, 4. Harlan 659, 5. Pella 662, 6. Washington 664, 7. Williamsburg 666, 8. Fairfield 676, 9. Carroll 682, 10. Iowa Falls-Alden 713