Ankeny Centennial girls’ golf coach John Petersen had plenty of time to talk to his golfers on the long ride home from Tuesday’s Linn-Mar Invitational at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion.
With two more meets in the next two days, the Jaguars only had time to make some mental adjustments after placing 12th in the 15-team field.
“We talked about our concentration on the greens and limiting our high holes by playing ‘smarter’ shots,” Petersen said. “Today was much better.”
Centennial shot a 177 on Wednesday in a CIML Conference triangular meet at Copper Creek. Even though the Jaguars lost to two of the top teams in Class 4A, they posted a much better score after finishing with a 398 for 18 holes just 24 hours earlier.
“I liked our demeanor on the course today,” Petersen said. “We seemed to be having more fun, and our scores went down. Hopefully, we can start playing our best golf as the season starts to wind down.”
Third-ranked Southeast Polk fired a 164 on its home course, while No. 8 Valley shot a 169. Centennial’s record dropped to 2-4 in the conference.
Hallie Yates of Valley carded a 1-under-par 35 on the back nine to earn medalist honors. Her teammate, Shanel Sayre, and Lauren Brown of Southeast Polk each shot a 40 to tie for runner-up honors.
Payton Drefke led the Jaguars with a 43. Vivian Wilson and Olivia Joensen each fired a 44, Kate Geiselhart had a 46, Brooke Ridout carded a 50, and Adelyne Peterson added a 52.
Wilson made a birdie on the par-5, No. 14 hole. Peterson birdied the par-4, No. 17 hole.
Centennial will compete in the Linda Bloom Invitational on Thursday at Marshalltown.