The Ankeny Centennial boys’ golf team entered the season with some high hopes.
Nothing that happened on Monday will alter those expectations.
The Jaguars shot a 303 at Briarwood Golf Club to win their home invitational for the fifth consecutive time. The meet was renamed the Jesse Peck Invitational in honor of the former Centennial standout, who passed away last year at the age of 24.
“It’s really nice to see that,” Centennial senior Jack Winkel said of the new tournament name. “He’s kind of living on through us.”
The Jaguars put Peck’s initials on their uniforms prior to the 2020 season. Centennial coach Rick Fee felt like he wanted to do more to honor Peck, who played on the school’s state championship team in 2013.
“I thought we could find another way to honor him, and it seemed natural just to add his name to the Jaguar Invitational so that he can be remembered for many years to come,” Fee said.
The Jaguars easily won Monday’s seven-team event. They finished 19 strokes ahead of runner-up Southeast Polk.
“A 303 is not a bad number to shoot around this golf course,” Fee said. “There’s a lot of ways to get in trouble, but at the same time there’s a lot of holes you can score well on. It’s a good launching pad for us to start our season. I’ve always told kids, ‘You can’t win them all unless you win the first one,’ so being able to start off on the right foot and get that confidence rolling when we have to play two more events this week is a good way to start.”
Winkel carded a 2-over-par 74 and captured medalist honors for the third straight year. Calvin McNeeley of Southeast Polk and Cale Leonard of Ottumwa also shot 74s, but Winkel ended up claiming medalist honors on a cardoff.
Last year, Winkel and McNeeley tied for first after they both finished with a 71.
“I had a good start today, but then didn’t finish very well,” said Winkel, who had a 2-under 34 on the front nine. “But overall, I’m pretty happy.”
Lawson Hachmeister and Kellen Welsch each fired a 76 for the Jaguars. Ethan King carded a 77, Ben Meier had an 84, and Caden Kelling added an 87.
Centennial had eight players shoot under 80 in last week’s tryouts. On Monday, the Jaguars posted four scores in the 70s.
“It’s always good to see that,” Winkel said of the balanced scoring.
The Jaguars will host a CIML Iowa Conference dual meet against Ames on Tuesday at 9 a.m.