Waukee High School Golf and Cross Country Kick Start Their Seasons

Summer is over, but there’s still good golf to be played. Just ask the Waukee High School boys’ golf team. 

Head coach John Kontz said the graduation of Collin Foster and Brady Campbell (who placed first and third, respectively, in last year’s individual state meet), still has his team trying to figure itself out.

"Right now, we still are finding our identity," Kontz said. "Last year, Collin and Brady were just natural leaders and the younger golfers followed whatever they set forth as a path. This year’s a little different."

The 2011-2012 team may be young, but two freshmen, in particular, have been integral to the varsity team’s success. Parker Howe and Connor Littlefield have played outstanding golf for the Warriors so far this season.

“Those two guys are shooting really well," Kontz said. "They're actually contributing to the team score probably about half of the time."

Junior Grant Campbell was a part of last year’s championship team and returns with plenty of experience. He said the camaraderie of this team is what makes it unique.

"Even before the start of the season, we all knew each other and had done stuff and hung out outside of golf," he said. "Last year, we all knew each other but hadn't done anything together until the start of the season. Even the freshmen have come in and felt comfortable."

Although this year’s team has struggled at times, they are still putting together another impressive campaign. They won their first meet of the season Aug. 11 at Copper Creek golf course in Pleasant Hill, defeating conference rivals Valley and Mason City. They also placed second in the first installment of the Iowa Conference Tournament. The second half will be played on Sept. 28.

Senior Zach Knudtson is spending his second year with the varsity team. He said the team goal is simply to play well.

"Our goal, as a team, would be to win an invitational, play well at districts, play well at state and hopefully win state,” he said. “But we don't want to get too confident.”

The boys will be in action again today against Fort Dodge at the Fort Dodge Country Club. 

Girls' Cross Country

The 2011–2012 Waukee High School girls’ cross country team returns all seven runners who won conference and regionals last year. They finished ninth in the state meet.

Heather Every has been coaching cross country for 10 years and has been running cross country since high school in West Delaware. She said she likes the dedication of this team and has lofty goals for each runner.

“We had a really strong commitment from the team to run during the summer,” Every said. “We had a great season last year, finishing ninth in the state. Our expectations for this year are to improve on that state finish and improve our personal bests.”

The girls practice every day after school from 3:15 to 5 p.m. and will kick off their season against Southeast Polk today at the Metro Waste Field Station.

The girls will try and improve on that ninth place state finish on Oct. 29 at Lakeside Golf Course in Fort Dodge.

“We have a great group of freshmen and upperclassmen,” Every said. “We’re very competitive and have a lot of depth. We’re all just very excited for the season to start.”