Wonder Earns Trip to State Golf Meet
While some of the Ladies of the Links moved from golf to softball to become Darlings of the Diamond, Alex Wonder, daughter of Jill Wonder of Ute and Greg Wonder of Danbury remained a Lady of the Links but a bit longer. Last week she competed in the state high school golf tournament.
"I qualified for State by making it through the first round of regionals, and then at the regional final I golfed really well and placed in the top 6 and was able to punch my ticket to state," stated Wonder a very recent MVAOCOU grad.
While Alex was confident in her chance to advance to State, she hoped her teammates were also having great days on the course and could also punch tickets to Marshalltown.
"When I finished my round at the regional final meet I knew I did good, but I was more focused on how my teammates did because I was hoping we were going to be able to advance as a team," Alex added. "When all of the scores came in we unfortunately did not advance as a team, but I would be advancing as a individual and that caused some mixed emotions."
"Alex has been a very dedicated athlete since her freshman year," commented Ram Coach Kathy Scholl who, incidentally, was a member of the 1998 Ram golf team and went to State herself. "She has spent hours upon hours off season on the golf course which all paid off at the state tournament."
With two days of golf ahead of her for the state meet, Alex said she prepared much like they had for other meets.
"We try to focus in on the areas that need the most work and make sure the other areas of my game stay sharp," she explained. "We looked into the course that I would be playing at and tried to play from the same yardages at our home course. This helps me mentally prepare for the longer holes and helps me decide what clubs I would use when we go to Marshalltown."
The preparation did well for Wonder who placed 27th out of 76 golfers at the state meet. The grad shot a respectable 83 on Day 1 of the meet and 91 on Day 2. She was just 31 strokes behind the winner, Kirsten Nuss of New Hampton.
"I'm pleased with how I did," Alex stated. "My first day score was really successful and my second day score was good, but not as low as I was hoping to go after a 83 on day 1."
"It was fun to watch her finish her high school golf career at the 2A State Tournament," added Coach Scholl. "It's a great way to finish as she moves on to play for BV (Buena Vista University) next year!!"
Alex does have a bit of advice for anyone considering taking up the sport of golf.
"If someone was wanting to take up golf, I would strongly encourage them to do so," she said. "Golf has helped me become mentally strong in every aspect of life. I have also gained many friendships from this sport and I have been awarded many opportunities by going out for golf."
Congratulations on a great season, Alex!
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Motorists using the westbound U.S. 20/U.S. 75 ramp to southbound Interstate 29 should plan for a detour beginning Tuesday, June 2, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation's Sioux City construction office.