Spartans bag third-place trophy at 1A State Golf

 NEWTON -- Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton’s first-ever trip to the Boys State Golf Tournament resulted in a shiny new object for the school trophy case.
 Led by top-15 finishes from sophomore twin brothers Everette and Will Carroll, the Spartans scored consistent rounds of 350 and 346 at Newton’s Westwood Golf Course to place third out of nine teams in the Class 1A state meet held May 24-25.
 Grundy Center improved by 29 strokes on day two and claimed the 1A title with a 683, followed by Harris-Lake Park (687) and Exira-EHK (696). The top three teams earn state trophies while the top seven individuals (plus ties) take home medals.
 IKM-Manning freshman Kyler Rasmussen was one of those 1A medalists after tying for seventh place out of 64 golfers with a 36-hole total of 161. He shot an 85 on Thursday, then cut nine strokes Friday for a 76. The Wolves also competed as a team - their first state golf appearance as a consolidated school - and placed eighth with a 721 (375-346).
 According to Exira-EHK coach Tony Petersen, this year’s state meet marked the first time that a boys team or individual from Exira, Elk Horn or Kimballton has qualified for state golf. The Spartans earned their state berth by winning the 1A district tourney at Anita on May 18, edging IKM-M by a single stroke.
 Everette Carroll led the Spartans with a score of 164 to tie for 11th place, just three strokes off medalist contention. He shot an 86 on Thursday and a 78 Friday. Will Carroll placed 13th with a 168 (83-85) and E-EHK also counted the scores of junior Cole Burmeister (181) and senior Cole Madsen (183). Freshman Tyler Petersen (214) and senior Dalton Vanderwal (235) rounded out the scorecoard.
 In addition to Rasmussen’s medalist score of 161, IKM-Manning also counted the cards of senior Austin Ahrenholtz (181), freshman Tyler Brandt (185) and junior Jarod Henkelman (194). Ahrenholtz cut his score by seven strokes from day one to day two while Brandt improved by 11 strokes. Also competing were junior Tyler Henkelman (205) and freshman Conner Richards (243).