All season long, the goal for the Ankeny Centennial boys’ golf team was to play its best when it mattered the most.
That’s exactly what the Jaguars did on Monday.
Fourteenth-ranked Centennial shot a 307 on its home course and placed second in a Class 4A district meet at Briarwood Golf Club. The Jaguars advanced to the state meet for the first time since 2020.
“I can’t begin to tell you how proud of our kids I am,” said Centennial coach Andrew Reedy. “We started very poorly as a team, and they each made a decision to play for one another. Our four scoring players played the front nine in 18-over-par and then they played the back nine in 1-over. The guts and toughness it takes to make a decision mid-round to not give up when nobody would blame you for doing so due to your poor start is incredible.”
No. 8 Southeast Polk posted a 292 total to easily capture the district title. Another CIML Conference team, No. 5 Dowling Catholic, placed third with a 310 and also qualified for state.
Centennial placed fourth at last year’s district meet, finishing three strokes behind Dowling for the last qualifying spot.
“It feels great to make it after being so close last year,” said Centennial senior Zach Hoffman, the only returning varsity player from that squad. “It definitely makes it feel a bit sweeter. I am happy we showed we belong at state. We were definitely confident knowing it was at our home course, and we’ve beaten every team this year. It took a lot of pressure off and let us go out there and play golf.”
Southeast Polk, which advanced to state for the fifth straight year, had the top three individual finishers. Cooper Patterson carded a 1-under 71 to earn medalist honors, edging teammate Aaron Estell by two shots.
Tate Logan carded a 74 to place fifth for the Jaguars. He made birdies on the No. 10 and 15 holes.
“Tate did what Tate does,” Reedy said. “He was 4-over through eight holes and played the final 10 holes in 2-under. As a senior that was getting his first and only shot at the state tournament, to do that when it mattered most. Wow!”
Centennial’s Jackson Lewis took ninth with a 75. After making a triple bogey on the par-4, No. 9 hole, he shot a 1-under 35 on the back nine.
“Jackson was amazing!” Reedy said. “I saw him only a few times today because he was so locked in that any time I was around, I knew he had it under control. He did make two big numbers, but he bounced right back and never lost his momentum. Again, not easy to do! As a sophomore under the pressure, he delivered and I am very proud of him.”
Charlie Morrissey placed 15th with a 78. Nathan Boehlert carded an 80 for the Jaguars’ fourth counting score.
“Charlie and Nathan both also had to dig deep and find a way today,” Reedy said. “It was honestly fun to watch these kids come up big when they had to. Nathan made a great up and down for par from a bunker on his last hole, and Charlie got up and down for par on his last hole. Tough as nails!”
Tiernan Logan had an 82 for the Jaguars. Hoffman added an 83.
“Tiernan and Zach both struggled early, but were able to tough it out,” Reedy said. “We talked about even if you aren’t playing well, in the case of a tie the fifth and possibly sixth scores could be the tiebreakers. They embraced that, and both finished strong. I am very proud of all six guys!”
Reedy was also proud of Dean Smith, the Jaguars’ assistant coach, and the rest of his players.
“Dean just had hip replacement surgery four or five days ago, but he was there and that speaks to how much of a total team accomplishment it was!” Reedy said. “Also, all 18 of the kids that didn’t play were on site helping us run the event. They also provided encouragement and energy for our guys, and this absolutely feels like a total program accomplishment. Everyone contributed, and it was just a great day. Parents/family members, our ADs, members of Briarwood that don’t even have kids on the team, the staff at Briarwood, the list goes on and on of the support we had.”
The state meet will be held on Friday and Saturday at Otter Creek.