'02-'04 Men's Golf

Jeff Soper attended Iowa Lakes from '02-'04, he will be going into the Hall of Fame for Men’s Golf.

From a young age Jeff knew he was going to attend Iowa Lakes. His dad Dan, had been coaching for a while so he was able to grow up with the teams and players throughout the years. He wanted to be like Nate Steege, Mike Hagen, Jeff Muhlbauer, and Rachel Maruno who had brought success to the program. So when the time came it was the obviously choice to become a Laker.

Soper received accolades on and off the course at Iowa Lakes. He was an Infinity Scholar recipient, made the dean’s list all four semesters, two-time academic All-Region selection, academic All-American in 2004 and first team All-Region as a sophomore. Jeff earned a berth to the National Individual Qualifier in 2004 also. He holds the school 18 hold competitive round score record with 4 under 68.

Jeff has many fond memories from Iowa Lakes but one in particular is from their trip to Bella Vista, Arkansas during spring break.

“It was a great escape for the Northwest Iowa winter to be able to get on a golf course and get some rounds under our belts before the upcoming season. My freshman year, Coach (my dad) decided that we should walk 36 holes on our first day in Arkansas. We were playing 36 holes because we were excited to get as many holes in as we can. We were walking because my dad was cheap and wouldn’t get us carts. Normally 36 wouldn’t have been a big deal, but for a bunch of kids who hadn’t played golf in 6 months and our cardio activity was limited to the occasional pick-up basketball game or running into the school from our cars, walking 36 holes out of the gate was sheer madness. Although I was playing with my 4 best friends, who I had played thousands of rounds of golf with, the last 9 holes were played in complete silence. 2 guys in the group played bare foot as their feet were in so much pain from the miles of walking we had done. This day was later referred as the “Stupidest Idea Ever.”

After Iowa Lakes Jeff attended Northwest Oklahoma State University where he competed in all the varsity matches and was a medalist at the Angelfire Invitational in New Mexico. He transferred to Iowa State University and completed his degree in Accounting after NWOSU.

Besides his coach and father, Biology teacher Mary Larschield really stood out during his time at Iowa Lakes. He didn’t care much for her classes, but she did an amazing job of keeping him engaged and challenged which carried over to other areas of his life.

Other people who made an impact on Jeff were Chris Schiltz and Coach Tim Milner. Both men helped guide him on and off the golf course.

Jeff would like to thank his wife, Morgan, and our two children, Ella and Silas for making him the luckiest man in the world. He would also like to thank his parents, Dan Soper and Marilyn Soper for their unconditional support and guidance. Also, his little brother Andy Soper and little sister Ricca (Soper) Watt for their support and competitive spirit. They have always help push Jeff to become better at everything that he does.