With a year under her belt, Kelley Emke is ready for her second season as the Ankeny girls’ golf coach.
“I definitely feel more comfortable in my role this year,” said Emke. “There was so much to learn last year that I often felt like I was always coming up on new challenges. This year I think we are all ready to go. We know the expectations, we know what practice will look like, and it just feels like it’s time to get out on the course. I’m really hopeful having so many returning varsity players and senior leaders we will be able to start strong and keep that going!”
Seniors Isabella Ross and Ava Sesker are the team’s top returning players. Sophomores Aubree Moeller and Catherine Nelson are also back.
There are 12 girls on the squad, which will open its season on April 7 by competing in the Waukee Northwest Invitational at The Legacy Golf Club. The Hawkettes placed third in that event a year ago.
“One of my biggest goals this year is to continue to grow our program,” Emke said. “We have two more girls out this year than we did last year so that is a great start. We also have four freshmen which is two more than last year–that’s a small growth but it is growth. It is very exciting that we will have both a full varsity and a full JV this year. We are also starting a program where eighth graders can come practice with us on Thursdays and so far we have four eighth graders planning to join us.”
Ross led the team last year with a 48.6 average. She placed 16th in the Waukee Invitational at Beaver Creek with an 88, which helped her to a 15th-place finish in the two-day CIML Conference meet with a 181 total.
Ross later carded a 92 in a Class 4A regional meet at the American Legion Golf Course in Marshalltown. She led Ankeny to a sixth-place finish.
Sesker, meanwhile, placed fourth on the squad with a 57.1 average. She shot a 102 at the regional meet.
Nelson posted an average score of 63.7. Moeller had a 63.9 average.
Last year, Ankeny shot a 390 total in the Toni Dickey Invitational at Otter Creek, its best 18-hole score of the season. The Hawkettes later fired a nine-hole best of 191 in a triangular meet at Copper Creek, where Ross carded a 44, Nelson and Sesker each had a 54, and Moeller added a 62.
“Another goal we have for this season is to improve as a team,” Emke said. “I’d love to see us get (our scores) down lower. Even just 5-10 strokes and we would be competing at a higher level and placing higher at many meets.
“I’d like to see us place in the top five at an invite and really push our competition in the conference also,” she added.