The Ankeny Centennial boys’ golf team enjoyed a successful first season under new head coach Andrew Reedy.
Now, the Jaguars are looking to build upon that success.
Five varsity regulars are back from a squad that placed 11th in Class 4A with a 638 total. Seniors Nathan Boehlert and Charlie Morrissey are both back along with juniors Jackson Lewis, Tiernan Logan and McCoy Miller.
“These guys have all been working hard in the offseason along with some other kids that were JV players last season,” said Reedy. “I really like how our team looks heading into the season.”
Centennial posted an overall record of 67-42 in 2023, including a 3-5 mark in CIML Conference dual meets. The Jaguars placed second in a district meet on their home course at Briarwood to qualify for state for the first time since 2020.
This year, the state meet will be held at Briarwood on Oct. 11-12.
“I feel really good about our chances of accomplishing our goals for the season, and the state tournament is obviously always one of those goals,” Reedy said. “Our focus will be on smaller, approach/discipline oriented goals that I believe will ultimately lead to bigger goals such as the state tournament. With state being at Briarwood this fall, our guys really want to play in that tournament. Really wanting it can sometimes lead to pressure that is detrimental to performance. So we will focus on the day to day, the process, instead of that.”
Morrissey placed second on the team a year ago with a 39.2 average. He shot a 70 to earn runner-up honors in a triangular meet against Urbandale and Valley at Briarwood.
Morrissey carded a 73 to place seventh in the conference meet at Jester Park. He later posted a two-day total of 158 to finish 38th in the state meet at Otter Creek.
Boehlert was the team’s No. 3 golfer with a 39.9 average. He placed ninth in the Turk Bowman Invitational at Veenker Golf Course with a 77, then later shot a 170 at the state meet.
Lewis placed fifth on the team with a 40.7 average. He took ninth at the district meet with a 75, then shot a 167 at the state meet.
Miller was the team’s No. 6 golfer with a 41.1 average. He fired a 75 to place 12th in the Southeast Polk Invitational at Copper Creek, where he led the Jaguars to a fourth-place finish.
Logan, meanwhile, placed seventh on the squad with a 41.6 average. He shot a 77 in the final round of the state meet to finish with a 165, the third-best total on the squad.
“Our first day of tryouts was on Monday,” Reedy said. “It was a rainy, dreary day, but we did get it in. We ended up with 44 kids trying out. We are only able to keep 24 kids so we will have to cut 20 players, unfortunately.”
Centennial will open the season on Thursday with a conference triangular meet against Dowling Catholic and Johnston at Terrace Hills. The Dragons placed second in last year’s state meet behind league rival Valley.
Reedy said he thinks that having a season under his belt has been helpful for the program.
“I think that things are going smoother, but I am certainly still learning,” he said. “The part I have focused on a lot is relationships with the young men in our program–and I believe that has improved. Having a full season last year and the offseason with this year’s returning players has helped, and I feel like I know and understand each of them better as well as they know what to expect from me and how I operate.
“Having the (unofficial) returning JV coach of the year in Dean Smith that has been around the program for years has been really helpful,” he added.