For the first time this season, the Ankeny Centennial boys’ golf team defeated its crosstown rival.
The Jaguars placed fifth in the Waukee Northwest Invitational on Thursday at The Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk. They posted a 314 total and finished one stroke ahead of Ankeny, which had defeated Centennial in three earlier meetings by a combined 35 shots.
“The (score) we shot was one shot better than what we shot on Monday at Fort Dodge, but it was easily 8 to 10 shots better based on how difficult the course was playing and the wind,” said Centennial coach Andrew Reedy.
The Hawks, meanwhile, placed sixth in the 13-team field after winning the Joselyn Invitational three days earlier at the Fort Dodge Country Club.
“It wasn’t our best day, but we managed to finish in the middle of the field,” said Ankeny coach Mike Weddingfeld. “Only having two scores in the 70s hurt us. I thought all of the scores were a little high, and that shows the difficulty of the course and I know a lot of the players were talking about some very tough pin placements, and I know we struggled putting.”
Northwest shot a 300 to defend its team title. Valley was second with a 304, edging Dowling Catholic by one stroke.
Blake Cronin of Northwest carded a 3-under-par 69 to earn medalist honors. Dewell Anderson of Dowling was the runner-up with a 70.
Ankeny’s Drew Hensen placed seventh with a 75. After making a double bogey on No. 9, he made an eagle on the par-5, No. 10 hole and followed with a birdie on No. 11, but then had a stretch of five consecutive bogeys.
It marked the first time in five meets this season that Hensen wasn’t the medalist.
“I am OK with how we finished,” Weddingfeld said. “Yes, we would like to play our best every time out and yes, we would like to win but that is not always going to happen, especially with the competition we face week after week.”
Centennial’s Tate Logan also earned a top-10 finish, placing 10th with a 76. Teammate McCoy Miller was 11th with a 77.
“Tate has been really solid the past couple of weeks since he lost his varsity spot for one event. He played the No. 1 spot today based on my feeling that he is playing like the best player on the team as of late. I really like his game right now and look for him to keep it up!” Reedy said. “McCoy had a few tough outings the last three events, but he had a good week of practice and worked really hard to put himself in better spots off the tee. It paid off, and he played a really nice round of golf today. He made some mistakes, but overall it was pretty good.”
Duncan Beelner fired a 77 for the Hawks. He placed 13th in the field of 76 players.
Nathan Boehlert had a 79 for the Jaguars. Charlie Morrissey shot an 82, Kaden Schulz had an 85, and Zach Hoffman added an 87.
“Nathan has been pretty good the past couple of events, and he played some good golf today. He is another one that had a rough outing last week and has responded really nicely. To me, that shows some growth,” Reedy said. “We have had different guys playing well at different times. I feel we are getting closer to getting it to click. As we continue to progress, my belief is that we will get all six guys playing their best at once. Hopefully, later in September into October!”
Ankeny’s Evan Hodapp shot an 81. Kyler Crimmins had an 82, Jacob Adams fired an 83, and Nick Meyer finished with a 94.
“Sometimes you just have to accept the day and move on to the next,” Weddingfeld said. “We will definitely keep working to improve. No one on the team feels like they are playing their best golf yet, and that is why we will get back to work (Friday).”
Centennial will return to The Legacy on Tuesday for a CIML Conference triangular meet against Johnston and Waukee. Ankeny will travel to Willow Creek for a conference triangular against Dowling and Valley.