BOONE — Isolation, disappointment, close calls.

The seniors for the Grundy Center girls golf team have worked, and bonded, and perfected their game through a tumultuous four-year career on the links.

Friday, they finally got what they had been chasing all this time.

The Spartans captured the Class 1A state golf championship at Cedar Pointe Golf Course in Boone.

They did it for what is the 15th state title in the team’s history and first since 2015.

They did it with individual state champion and Grundy Center senior Abbie Lindeman leading the way, claiming medalist honors by a single stroke over Taylor Phillips of New London.

They did it together.

“They’ve worked at it every year, and every year, they’ve fallen short,” Grundy Center head coach Heather Gutknecht said. “They’ve worked that much harder, put in the hours, done absolutely everything I’ve ever asked of them.”

Seniors Lindeman, Avery Dirks and Brylee Hoeg have followed the standard for the kind of consistent growth and success that has made Grundy Center a perennial powerhouse for girls golf since their first state title in 1991.

Fittingly, all three seniors earned top-10 individual medals to go with their team medals. Lindeman won with a 159, Dirks was sixth with a two-day total of 178 and Hoeg eighth with a 179.

And it all started with a canceled 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, wiping away a chance for those three as freshman to be part of what was going to be an absolutely loaded roster with five returning golfers from a team that was fifth in 1A in 2019.

“We lost our freshman year and came in as sophomores knowing that we would be leading the pack for the rest of our high school careers,” Lindeman said. “Our friendship just continued to grow. Avery and I are best friends, and then during golf season, Brylee’s there to join right in and we just have the most fun. We’ve always wanted the best for each other, and I couldn’t have asked for two better girls to do this with.”

Lindeman’s personal journey to the top of the individual leaderboard was its own mountain to climb.

She was seventh as a sophomore on the team that finished third at Ames Golf & Country Club, then climbed to third as a junior on the runner-up team at the Legion course in Marshalltown.

“I think we all knew what we wanted to do coming into this year,” Lindeman said.

Easier said than done, as Lindeman and Phillips engaged in an entertaining battle over the final few holes at Cedar Pointe in the final group of the day along with BCLUW’s Brooklynn Backoff.

Phillips entered the day with a two-shot lead, which ballooned to a five-shot advantage after Lindeman went bogey-bogey-par-double bogey on the first four holes of the day. But a birdie on No. 8 helped Lindeman get back on pace at the turn, with both turning in 41s on their scorecard.

On the back, Lindeman was steady, and after a Phillips double-bogey on Nos. 10 and 14, the duo was all square.

Lindeman managed to go 2-up after 16 holes with a pair of pars.

And then Phillips’ tee shot on 17 pinged off the flag pole and nearly dropped in for an ace, setting up a gimme birdie putt for Phillips while Lindeman missed the green short and to the right.

“I was actually golfing with her the first time she ever made a hole-in-one,” Lindeman said. “So I see that and think, ‘Yep, that’s going to be really close. OK, Abbie, just get a nice pitch, up and down, all you have to do.'”

The goal was a nice, lofty shot to set up an easy par putt and settle for being up 1 for No. 18.

Lindeman said she hit it too hard.

Fortunately, the golfing deities smiled upon her, and the flagpole stopped the shot in its tracks, sinking into the cup for a chip-in birdie.

“I just looked at Coach Gutknecht like, ‘Oh my gosh,'” Lindeman said. “That was probably the craziest birdie experience I’ve ever had. And, I’m not gonna lie, a big stress reliever.”

Phillips wasn’t done, hammering her tee shot over the dogleg at No. 18 while Lindeman understandably kept it conservative and on the fairway.

The aggressiveness paid off, even with Phillips in the rough, with a nice chip over the tricky bunker in front of the green to set up a fairly-routine birdie putt.

That put the heat on Lindeman, who only needed to two-putt to win but had left her first putt an uncomfortable amount of feet from the hole.

Lindeman said she knows how good Phillips is in play-off situations from previous experiences playing with her.

“I’m trying not to freak out inside, but I’m shaking, … I line up my putt, I stand up and my legs are literally shaking,” Lindeman said. “But over the past three years, my putting has been my go-to, something I can rely on. I knew which way it was going to break, so I thought, let’s sink it.”

She did, becoming Grundy Center’s first individual champ since Jocilyn Onnen in 2010. And then the celebration was on.

Hoeg openly wept as she embraced her teammates in front of the clubhouse.

“I mean, I was crying a lot,” Hoeg said. “It’s the happy tears. We’ve worked really hard for this. And I know every girl that went out there today tried their hardest. And every time I took a shot, I thought of the other girls, I wondered how they were doing. And I knew even if I wasn’t happy with my round when I walked off that green, I knew they’d be there to pick me up.”

Dirks rejoiced with her family, including assistant coach and father Jordan Dirks.

“I’m so proud of my team,” Avery Dirks said. “This has been the best season and it just all lined up perfectly. I feel like our story was written in the books, and I love it.”

Returning Spartans, like Leah Larson who came in with a steady two-day total of 190, Isabelle Ruth with a 201 and Avery Knutsen a 219, are already asking — what’s the prospects for next year, and the possibility of state title No. 16, look like?

“Once you’re part of a state team, let alone a state championship team, you start to learn that it’s possible,” Gutknecht said. “We haven’t even walked off the course yet and they’re already asking about next year. We have some really young girls here today in middle school, elementary, and even the JV team. And you better believe Grundy Center knows how to put in the work.”

Avery Dirks added, “I think it will motivate them to look at how we got third, then second, then first. All it takes is hard work and practice and they can do it again, if they work for it.”

Gutknecht also praised her support staff, including assistant coach Dirks, and Rick Schupbach, who was behind the first 14 Spartan titles in a Hall of Fame coaching career.

“Jordan volunteering all the hours he has is incredible,” Gutknecht said. “Jordan knows golf, he brings energy, a ton of passion, and is just the most upbeat person at all times. And he’s excited for the firetruck ride into town tonight.

“Rick, he’s in our backyard. He’s the most selfless individual when it comes to sharing knowledge, and not just with our team, with anyone — he wants people to love the game of golf, and wants young people to grow with the game into young adults. I’m glad we don’t get charged for every minute I’m on the phone with Rick talking about the game. But as he said, ‘You know I always answer the phone,’ and he really does.”

Friday’s win caps off an exceptional week for Grundy Center golf, with the boys accomplishing the same feat of team and individual championships. It is believed to be the first such sweep of team and individual honors since Ottumwa in the 1996-97 school year and their medalists, Erin Denefe and Chris Emmanuel.

“There’s no better way to go out,” Lindeman said. “The stress of those last four holes, knowing what I had to do, what had to happen, it reassured me that everything I have done, all the hard work and practice really showed up and helped me win a championship not just for myself, but for my team. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

CLASS 1A

At Boone

Cedar Pointe Golf Course, par 72

Team standings — 1. Grundy Center 351-355–706; 2. New London 364-365–729; 3. West Branch 393-378–771; 4. BCLUW 389-392–781; 5. Newell-Fonda 400-385–785; 6. Easton Valley 402-391–793; 7. Sidney 415-386–801; 8. Akron-Westfield 414-399–813; 9. Nashua-Plainfield 405-415–820; 10. Alta-Aurelia 434-436–870.

Individual (top 10) — 1. Abbie Lindeman, GC, 80-79–159; 2. Taylor Phillips, NL, 78-82–160; 3. Avery Lichter, Bishop Garrigan, 86-82–168; 4. Paige Franzen, N-P, 87-87–174; 5. Addison Brink, Riverside, 90-87–177; 6. Avery Dirks, GC, 89-89–178; 7. Kylie Powers, IKM-Manning, 89-90–179; 8. Brylee Hoeg, GC, 87-92–179; 9. Avery Dowling, Sidney, 92-89–181; 10. Claire Jarrett, WB, 92-91–183.

GRUNDY CENTER (706) — Lindeman 80-79–159, Dirks 89-89–178, Hoeg 87-92–179, Leah Larson 95-95–190, Isabelle Ruth 106-95–201, Avery Knutsen 109-110–219.

BCLUW (781) — Brooklynn Backoff 88-99–187, Lindsay Beeghly 94-95–189, Sydney Anderson 101-97–198, Maggie Ward 106-107–213, Leah McEwen 119-101–220, Ainsley Geelhart 147-138–285.