Senior excited for invite, but still focused on season after big postseason win

Anyone who watches the Gilbert baseball team on a regular basis understands fully the impact senior first baseman and pitcher Eli Eldred has had on the program. He’s the rock, that one guy the other members of the team lean on, and he just so happens to be an extremely talented player too.

Whether it’s in the field, on the mound, or at the plate, Eli makes people stand up and take notice. Opposing coaches and other coaches from around the state know all about him as well.

A four-year starter for the Tigers, Eli will get the chance to play with and against Iowa’s best of the best later this month. He’s been selected to take part in the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association’s All-Start Series in Carroll, July 27-29.

And when Eli got the invitation, you better believe he quickly accepted.

“After the ADM game at home, their coach pulled me aside and said he wanted to pick me because he thinks I’m a good ball player,” Eli said. ‘I was like, let’s do it! It’s more baseball.”

Eli is the third Gilbert player over the last decade to be invited to the all-star series, joining former Tigers Steven Lawrence and Easton Johnson.

Eli has played and started in 105 games during his career. He boasts a .347 career batting average with 3 home runs, 77 RBIs, 23 doubles, 9 triples, and 101 runs scored. On the mound, he carries a career record of 11-7 with a 2.14 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 117 2/3 innings of work.

This season, Eli is batting .333 with 11 extra-base hits, 17 RBIs, and 21 runs scored. He also holds a 4-1 record and 2.02 ERA on the bump.

Gilbert head coach Jeremy Eldred is incredibly proud of his son, not only for being selected to the all-star series, but also for the way Eli conducts himself on a daily basis.

“For me, it’s a heck of an honor to have him represent Gilbert (in the all-star series),” Jeremy said. “He’s a heck of a ball player. He’s grinded his whole life and he’s never changed. I’ve tried to slow him up on some things, but he goes through a brick wall for his teammates every single day.”

Jeremy has had a front row seat for Eli’s entire high school career. He may still have that front-row seat to watch him at the all-star series, but he’ll have to enter the stadium early to get it. Instead of being inside the fence as a coach, he’ll be in the stands as a spectator.

“It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to just watch, but it’s going to be a blast,” Jeremy said. “As a dad, I’ll never stop watching him.”

The all-star series will be fun to think about down the line, but not in the present. You see, Eli, Jeremy, and the rest of the Tigers are still focused on the season, which continues this evening with a Class 3A Substate 2 semifinal clash against Algona in Algona. Gilbert, which somehow drew the No. 7 seed in the 8-team substate, dismantled second-seeded Humboldt, 11-0 in 5 innings, in the quarterfinal round on Friday.

In a way, being seeded surprisingly low worked to Gilbert’s advantage on Friday. The players felt they had something to prove, and they delivered against a Humboldt team that won 24 games and the North Central Conference title during the regular season.

“It was a big win,” Eli said. “We shouldn’t have been the 7 seed because our conference is really good. Our record might now show it, but we can play some really good ball and that’s what we did.”

Gilbert shelled Humboldt starting pitcher Isaiah Busick for six hits and five runs in just 3 1/3 innings. Busick entered the contest with an unbeaten record on the season.

In all, the Tigers notched 10 hits, including three each from Kaden Malloy and Coal Myers. Brock Christensen and Alec Bell smacked two hits each. Eli, Alden Short, and Grant Konz all had one base knock.

Bell found the gap twice for a pair of doubles. Myers drove in a team-high three runs, while Short and Malloy both had two RBIs.

Gilbert took control early on with a run in the second inning. The Tigers added three in the third, two in the fourth, and then exploded for five in the fifth.

That was more than enough for Eli, who earned the nod on the hill. The southpaw kept Humboldt’s hitters baffled all night en route to a complete-game 4-hitter with 11 strikeouts.

“We had a game plan in place and we executed it,” Jeremy said. “We talked about getting on top of them early, particularly with a pitcher like (Busick) who’s undefeated. We knew if we could hop on him early and make them work, we’d be able to do what we do best.”

Lillian Dahlstrom, who will be a sophomore at Gilbert High School this fall, isn’t afraid of a little — or a lot — of hard work. If her recent accomplishment is any indication, she actually thrives when she’s put to the test.

Her tenacity has paid off though. Late last month, she made a little bit of history.

On Sunday, June 25, Lillian was awarded her Eagle Scout by the Boy Scouts of America. It’s the highest rank achievable in Scouts BSA, and Lillian is the first female Eagle Scout of Gilbert Scouts BSA Troop 157. In the entire state of Iowa, fewer than 10 females have ever achieved this lofty status, and among all scouts in the United States, only six percent achieve the rank of Eagle.

So, yes, Lillian is indeed a trailblazer.

To receive the Eagle Scout, individuals are required to progress through six previous ranks, earn a minimum of 21 merit badges, and propose and complete a service project for the community. An over-achiever, Lillian actually earned 39 merit badges, 18 more than required, in activities such as swimming, kayaking, and communications. She also organized a food drive that collected more than 2,000 servings through donations.

For her Eagle Scout service project, Lillian constructed new shelving units for the Gilbert Backpack Buddies Program at Gilbert Lutheran Church.

Everyone at Gilbert applauds Lillian for her dedication to Scouts BSA, and for this lofty achievement. She is a positive role model for all of our students, and we’re so happy that she calls Gilbert Schools home.

Congratulations, Lillian!

Somewhere in central Iowa this summer, as the sun starts to dip in the background, a young girl will stripe a drive down the middle of the fairway. She’ll turn to her dad, smile, and say, “I hit that just like Eden.”

In a backyard not far away at about the same time, a little boy will loudly set the scene to the hundreds of invisible fans in attendance — Connor Rash lines up the penalty kick for the state championship! — before he sprints toward the soccer ball and blasts it into the back of the net. It will set off a one-boy celebration that lasts until his mom calls him in for supper.

The next morning, in the hours before the heat gets so intense that it’s hard to breathe, a group of young girls will set out on a run around town. Their mission: To be just like Clare. And Sophia. And Keira. And Sarah.

It’s an amazing thing, isn’t it? In just one season, a blip in time that barely lasted two months, this generation of Gilbert student-athletes not only etched their names into school lore forever, but they also inspired the next generation of kids to be just like them.

And “just like them” is pretty special.

Two team state championships. An individual state championship. A relay state championship. A team state runner-up. A pair of third-place team finishes at state. Multiple state medals. Seven all-tournament team members.

And the victories … So. Many. Victories.

If you’re lucky — and we all were — it’s a season that occurs once in a lifetime. Different teams in different sports all focused on one goal: Being the best of the best. These kids dedicated themselves to it. Probably obsessed over it. And instead of shying away from the seemingly impossible expectations, they embraced them. They ran right into the light and grabbed what they felt was rightfully theirs.

You did that, kids.

You. Did. That.

And you should be extremely proud of yourselves. We all are.

That girls’ 4×800-meter relay — Clare Stahr, Sophia Bleich, Keira Andersen, and Sarah Feddersen — lit the fuse in mid-May when it broke the school record and won a Class 3A title by 10 seconds at the state track and field meet. Feddersen won a bronze medal in the 800, and added another medal in the 4×400 relay. Andersen wasn’t far behind, in fifth, in that same two-tour individual circuit of the blue oval. And both broke the school record.

Other girls — names like Claire Grandgenett, Rebecca Schrader, and Laurel Mizerak — played their roles as well. And William Wadsley put the Gilbert boys’ program in the spotlight with a pair of medal-winning runs in the mile and two-mile.

Cut to three days later and the boys’ golf team bagged another state trophy. The top of the leaderboard alluded the team for the first time since 2019, but third-place is nothing to disregard. For a program that sets its standards in the clouds, another Raccoon River Conference crown and high finish at state should be and is applauded. And with five of the six players back next season, including sixth-place finisher Zach Wilson, it’s not far-fetched to think the Tigers will be a state title contender again in 2024.

And then we get to the girls golfers, arguably the most dominant spring team in any sport, and we’re not just talking about here at Gilbert. We’re talking about the state.

Seriously.

An unbeaten spring for the team and an unbeaten spring for junior Eden Lohrbach. It just doesn’t get better than that. The bow was the program’s first state championship at the 3A meet in Cedar Falls only three days after the boys’ tournament wrapped up. The Lady Tigers were the wire-to-wire leaders, winning by 19 strokes against a field that never stood a chance.

Now here’s the scary part — that team comes back almost fully intact in 2024. Eden Lohrbach, the University of Nebraska recruit, will go in search of her third individual state gold medal. And it’s not far-fetched to say her biggest competition could come from her own household — twin sisters Ava and Ella Lohrbach. Macy Underwood, Josie Dukes, and Haley Loonan, they’ll all be back too.

The rest of the state just bellowed a collective YIKES!

Head coach Grant Walker is a lucky man.

And while all of this was going on, our Esports team was quietly going about its own scintillating spring playing Mario Kart. It took an unbeaten regular season into the state tournament and finished third. For a second-year program under head coach Troy Staudt, I’d say that’s a win no matter how you look at it.

Which brings us to soccer and five days that are hard to top if you’re a Gilbert Tiger.

Two teams. Two state finalists. Only one other school in the state — behemoth Johnston — could also make that claim.

But it wasn’t just the success, it was how the success was achieved. None of us will ever forget the first-half hat trick by Tyler Holtan in the quarterfinals, or the “are you kidding me?!” goal with 4 seconds left in the semifinal win over Sioux City Heelan. How about Connor Rash’s championship hat trick, capped by the walk-off PK that brought the thunder roaring down from the pro-Gilbert crowd as the Tiger boys celebrated their first-ever state soccer title? From beginning to end, it’s a movie script.

Girls, you captivated our minds and hearts equally on your way to a state runner-up finish. Shutouts in the opening two rounds, highlighted by Elle O’Brien streaking down the middle of the pitch as she chased down a perfect pass from Abby Patel to give the team a monumental double-overtime win over reigning state champion Des Moines Christian in the semifinal round.

And can we all give Sydney Lynch a standing ovation? A state golf champion, a state finalist and all-tournament team soccer player, and a two-week stretch that will still make her smile when she tells her grandkids all about it someday.

If somebody told you these stories, you wouldn’t believe them had you not seen them. 

But you did. We all did.

All of those little kids watched in awe too. You better believe they were paying attention. And you are who they now emulate.

Isn’t that the greatest win of all?

Lady Tigers Win First-Ever State Golf Title, Eden Lohrbach The Individual Champion Again

Perfection on a golf course, it’s just not possible, not unless someone out there has the ability to post 18 consecutive aces on a scorecard. You’d have better odds at winning the lottery in six consecutive weeks while dealing with the fact that you’ve also been struck by lightning three times during that span.

So, yeah, forget about perfection.

On second thought …

There is such a thing as a perfect golf season. The Gilbert girls’ team just achieved it. Junior phenom Eden Lohrbach did too. And it was a beautiful thing to watch.

Exorcising the demons of 2022 — more on that later — with two solid days of golf, our girls’ squad hoisted the program’s first-ever state championship trophy late Friday afternoon at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls.

Honestly, it wasn’t all that close.

Led by junior Eden Lohrbach’s second individual state title in three years, the Tigers led by seven strokes after Thursday’s opening 18 holes and then extended the final margin to 19 strokes by the time the Class 3A 36-hole tournament wrapped up on Friday. Rounds of 332-321 (653 total) on the 5,379-yard, par-72 layout easily dispatched runner-up Dubuque Wahlert (341-331-672) and third-place finisher Clear Lake (339-337-676).

At no time on Friday were our girls in danger of relinquishing the lead. The margin reached double digits early on when Josie Dukes and Macy Underwood started off strong, and it continued to steadily grow throughout the day as all of the golfers toured the course.

As for perfection, well, how about these numbers …

•There were some duplicates, but 86 teams attempted to beat the Tigers this spring, whether it was a dual, a triangular, a quad, or a tournament. All 86 failed.

•If you want to count the two-day state tournament as two separate events, then the number of foes reached 104. Again,104 failed.

•As for Eden Lohrbach, the math is even more ridiculous. She faced challenges from somewhere between 500 and 600 golfers in April and May. And she beat them all.

This was all expected, of course, considering Eden’s talent and the remainder of the team comprised of either talented freshmen with a familiar last name or cagey veterans. But I’d argue that makes the feat even more impressive. Each time our girls stuck a tee in the ground, there was a bull’s-eye on their backs. And it didn’t matter one bit.

There was a bit of redemption too as the girls subtly celebrated their achievement near the clubhouse on Friday. The scars of the Devastation Of 2022 are still visible, but hopefully now they’ll fade. In case you don’t remember (sorry girls), the Tigers took a 12-stroke lead into Day 2 of the 2022 state tournament at River Valley Golf Course in Adel, only to see their nerves and an unfortunate pin placement that made national headlines seize that title from their clutches and hand it to Clear Lake by two strokes.

The girls spent the 2023 season using that disappointment as fuel. And on the eve of last week’s state tournament, head coach Grant Walker and his girls burned those memories — quite literally — when they set the 2022 scorecard ablaze. The card may have turned to ashes, but the fire burning inside of the players only grew hotter as the week progressed.

Eden’s two-day total of 143 included a 2-under 70 in Round 1 and a 1-over 73 in Round 2 to give her a five-stroke win over runner-up Rebecca DeLong (73-75-148) of Clear Lake. Also the 2021 state champion and 2022 state runner-up, Eden plays a game most of us are unfamiliar with. Her high, naturally fading drive finds the fairway on virtually every hole. Her irons are crisp, and her wedge game is a notch or 12 above pretty much every golfer in the state.

And here’s a little bit of knowledge for you — had her putter been hot or even lukewarm on Friday, that 73 would have been more like 65 or 66. Over her last 15 holes, she burned the edges on a plethora of birdie putts, but her ball striking was so superior that it didn’t matter.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Eden’s game is her demeanor. Whether she penciled in a birdie or a bogey, she stayed laser-focused. She doesn’t throw clubs. She doesn’t grumble. And she’s always gracious to her playing partners. In other words, she’s an absolute joy to watch and a tremendous role model for her teammates and future golfers who hope to one day be just like Eden.

The University of Nebraska is getting a good one. A really good one. But not before she returns to Gilbert next year to attempt to win a third state crown. And is there anyone out there who doesn’t believe it will happen?

The other girls played their parts as well.

On Day 1, Ella Lohrbach fired an 83, and twin sister Ava Lohrbach added an 89 along with Macy’s 90.

On Day 2, Ava went pin-seeking with an 81, and Macy matched her to shave nine strokes off her opening-round score. Josie took five shots off her Day 1 total with an 86.

Don’t sleep on what Sydney Lynch did either. Her schedule late in the week consisted of the opening round of state Thursday morning, followed by a quick drive back to Gilbert to help the Tigers’ soccer team reached the 1A state tournament. Sydney and her dad, Rob, turned right back around and made it to Cedar Falls late Thursday night so Sydney would be ready for Friday’s second round.

I’m exhausted just typing that.

So, what does the 2024 landscape look like for our girls’ team? With only Lynch exiting due to graduation, and with Haley Loonan in the fold, there’s no doubt the Tigers will be among the favorites to win the state championship again. That’s probably being too modest. Truth serum time — they’ll be the favorites. That’s a lock.

I can’t wait to follow it all again.