Both the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial boys’ golf teams lowered their scores significantly on Saturday during the final round of the Class 4A state meet at Otter Creek.
Unfortunately, so did every other team in the field.
Eighth-ranked Ankeny began the day in 10th place, and that’s where the Hawks finished. After shooting a 327 in Friday’s opening round, coach Mike Weddingfeld’s team followed up with a 307 on Saturday for a 36-hole total of 634.
“Thankfully, the weather on day two cooperated better than day one,” said Weddingfeld. “(Friday) was brutal, and our scores showed it. We talked before that round that scores would be higher, but I think some of the guys didn’t realize how much the weather would affect their scores and mentally it got to us. We definitely bounced back (Saturday) and a 20-stroke swing was huge, but unfortunately the other teams played much better as well.”
No. 13 Centennial finished 11th in the 12-team field, which is where the Jaguars began the final round. Coach Andrew Reedy’s squad shot a 308 on Saturday to finish with a two-day total of 638.
“(Friday) was the toughest conditions most of these kids have ever played in. It was cold and blowing very hard,” said Reedy. “We had some guys not handle it the best and not be able to adjust. We just asked them to come back (Saturday) and do their best to fight back, and I was really happy with how everyone responded. Even the guys’ scores we didn’t use hung in there and played hard the whole round. As a coach, that is absolutely all you can ask for!”
The meet was dominated by the CIML Conference, which had seven of its nine teams in the field. No. 3 Valley shot a 302 on Friday to take the lead and held on to capture the title, finishing with a 590 total.
No. 1 Johnston tried to rally on Saturday, when it posted the lowest round of the day (285). That allowed the defending champion Dragons to finish second at 598.
Owen Howe led the way for Johnston, earning medalist honors with a 142 total. He finished one stroke ahead of Valley’s Braeden Nelson, who carded a 69 on Saturday and earned runner-up honors for the second straight year.
Ankeny’s Drew Hensen played in the same foursome with Jack Rogers of Iowa City High on Saturday. They both shot an even-par 71 and finished with a 4-over-par total of 146, but Rogers placed fourth on a cardoff.
Hensen closed out his high school career with a fifth-place finish.
“I was pretty happy with the way I played,” said Hensen. “I thought that 75 was a pretty solid score in (Friday’s) conditions. I knew going into (Saturday) that I would have to shoot 4- or 5-under to be in contention. After nine holes I felt like I could have easily been 3- or 4-under. But I did still think I was in contention. I never looked at the leaderboard throughout the round, but I believed that I was in contention up until I made a 6 on hole 7. I caught a couple of bad breaks and ended up making double (bogey). Unfortunately, that’s just the way golf is some days.”
Hensen had four birdies on the day. One of them came on No. 14, where he chipped into the hole from off the green.
“Hats off to Drew,” Weddingfeld said. “He battled both days until the end. I know he wishes a few more putts would have dropped, but he gave it his best and has been a leader for our team all year long.”
Centennial was also led by a senior. Zach Hoffman finished in a tie for 35th place with a 157 total.
Hoffman shot an 80 on Friday, then was one of four Jaguars to post a 77 on Saturday. He carded a 1-over 37 on the front nine, which he played last.
“Friday was really tough. It took a lot of mental toughness to stay focused,” said Hoffman. “I was very happy with how I played (Saturday), especially after a bad start. I can’t change anything, so I just have to deal with what I finished at.”
Hoffman was the lone returning varsity regular for the Jaguars this season. He provided leadership for the team when Reedy took over the program.
“I was especially happy for Zach to close out his Jags career with two solid rounds,” Reedy said.
Centennial’s Tate and Tiernan Logan also shot a 77 on Saturday, and so did Charlie Morrissey. Morrissey finished with a 158 total.
Tiernan Logan had a 165 total, and Tate finished with a score of 168. Jackson Lewis carded an 85 on Saturday and finished at 167, and Nathan Boehlert shot an 83 and finished at 170.
“I’m just extremely proud of these young men and the season they had,” Reedy said. “They faced some really low lows and had some really high highs like qualifying for state. When you look back on a season, you want to see progress and you hope the kids have learned some things. I can say with 100 percent confidence that they accomplished both of those things. I’m proud to have coached these young men this season.”
Reedy also praised the efforts of assistant coach Dean Smith and Centennial girls’ golf coach John Petersen.
“Dean is still recovering from hip surgery, but he was there both days doing whatever he could to encourage the Jags!” Reedy said. “John stepped in for Dean as our second designated coach and was absolutely awesome! It was nice to have had someone around that had been in a state tournament setting before to keep me level-headed as a rookie coach making my first trip to state. Thank you to them both!”
Ankeny’s Duncan Beelner finished with a 161 total. He was one of the few golfers who shot a better score on Friday (80) than he did on Saturday (81).
Kyler Crimmins carded a 76 in the final round for a 167 total, while Jacob Adams had a 79 and finished at 168. Caden Weddingfeld shot an 82 for a 170 total.
“Jacob bounced back after a tough first day so I was really proud of his senior leadership,” Weddingfeld said. “Kyler bounced back huge, and Duncan and Caden both hung in there even though I know they both wish they had a few holes back each day. Duncan played great on day one in those conditions and Caden played well except for a few holes each day that kept his scores higher than he was happy with, but again I am proud of everyone on the team and really enjoyed coaching all of them.
“It was a good learning experience for everyone, and I hope the boys enjoyed it and realize what a great accomplishment it is to just make it to state. I couldn’t be more proud of the team and already look forward to next season and working with the guys coming back,” he added.
Evan Hodapp will be back next year along with fellow juniors Beelner, Crimmins and Weddingfeld. After shooting an 84 on Friday, Hodapp had a double bogey on his first hole Saturday and then withdrew due to a neck injury.
“It was very unfortunate what happened to Evan,” Weddingfeld said. “He was hitting the ball great at the range and then suddenly had muscle spasms on the first tee. I know he was disappointed and the team felt bad for him, but at least he has next season to look forward to.”
