Ankeny girls’ golf coach Seth Hagarty gave his team a brief pep talk before the start of Monday’s Lamson Invitational at Willow Creek Golf Course.
“Improvement!” he said. “That was my message to the girls this morning. We are looking for improvement each day and that doesn’t always mean lower scores, but today it did!”
The Hawkettes placed ninth in the 16-team field with a score of 401. They had shot a 420 at the season-opening Ankeny Centennial Invitational on April 10 at Briarwood Golf Club.
“We improved by 19 strokes compared to our first invite,” Hagarty said. “I was very proud of the girls for handling the less than desirable conditions and going out and having fun and getting better!”
Southeast Polk won the team title with a 345, finishing eight strokes ahead of host Valley. Bettendorf was third with a 367.
Hallie Yates of Valley shot a 2-under-par 71 to earn medalist honors. Natalie Henson of Marshalltown was the runner-up with a 77.
Ankeny’s Addison Smith fired a 92 to place 20th. She had a 43 on the front nine, including four consecutive pars during one stretch.
Isabella Ross carded a 95 for the Hawkettes. She had a 45 on the back nine.
“Addie and Isabella had fantastic rounds,” Hagarty said. “Addie shot her career-best score, and I couldn’t be happier for her. She is starting to play very consistent golf more and more, and her scores will continue to reflect that! Isabella had several great holes, but there were definitely a few strokes she knows she left out there today. Both of them have tremendous attitudes and truly don’t get rattled by miscues or things out of their control, like frigid temperatures and high winds!”
Ankeny’s Gia Blaser and Jori Webb each shot a 107. Ava Sesker had a 120, and Gracie Block added a 121.
“These girls are so fun to be around,” Hagarty said. “It’s a blessing to be their coach and to help them celebrate their successes!”
The Hawkettes will host a CIML Conference triangular meet against Centennial and Urbandale on Wednesday at Otter Creek. They will then host the Toni Dickey Invitational on Thursday.
“Like I’ve said before, our two main goals this season were to have fun and work on improvement every day, and today we accomplished both of those goals,” Hagarty said. “Hopefully, the weather can cooperate for our next two meets this week, but we will have to wait and see what Mother Nature has in store for us.”