Thursday’s season-opening triangular meet at Terrace Hills provided a glimpse of the Ankeny Centennial boys’ golf team’s potential.
It also showed the kind of competition that the Jaguars will be facing in the CIML Conference.
Centennial played well in the 18-hole meet, but came away from the opener with a pair of losses. Dowling Catholic shot a 284 to finish 12 strokes ahead of the Jaguars, who posted a 296 total.
Centennial also lost to defending Class 4A state champion Johnston, which shot a 292.
“I simply asked them all to compete on every shot, and I am pleased with how they did with that challenge,” said Centennial coach Andrew Reedy. “Ten of our 12 players broke 80, so we have some depth this year and that excites me–especially the freshman class led by Bennett Lewis. He qualified 10th in tryouts and then shot 35 for nine holes at practice (on Wednesday), then posted a solid round today (by shooting 78 in the junior varsity meet). I am very excited about our depth!”
McCoy Miller carded a 2-under-par 69 to earn runner-up honors for the Jaguars. He finished one stroke behind the medalist, freshman Elijah Anderson of Dowling.
“McCoy played a very nice round of golf,” Reedy said. “He could have easily been three to four shots lower. He made par on two par-5s that are reachable for him with middle-short irons. And he had some birdie looks that he just couldn’t get to fall. Overall, he played really well. He has big goals, and this was a great start to his season.”
Centennial got a 73 from Tiernan Logan.
“Tiernan has been working on his game really hard and wanted a better score,” Reedy said. “He didn’t have his stuff today, but was able to hang in there and post a respectable score. He’s not happy with it, and I wouldn’t expect him to be. But I am proud of how he showed his toughness.”
Jackson Lewis and Cade Miller each carded a 77 for the Jaguars, Kinnick Nelson had a 78, and Colby Zinn added a 79. It was the varsity debut for Miller, Nelson and Zinn.
“Cade qualified No. 1 in tryouts with 70-78, but I played him at the 6 (spot) to help him be more comfortable in his first varsity event,” Reedy said. “He proved he can play at this level. Clean some stuff up and he can help this team! Kinnick and Colby both struggled on a few holes, but there was a lot of positives to take away! I was proud of how they competed.”
In the JV meet, Centennial got a 73 from Everett Bloyer and a 75 from Jett Lovanh.
“That was a really nice round for Everett,” Reedy said. “I told the kids after tryouts to do their best to make my job difficult by playing in a way that makes me consider them for a move up the lineup. Mr. Bloyer took that to heart and did just that! Jett also made me take a look at him with a solid round.”
The Jaguars will host the Jesse Peck Invitational on Monday at Briarwood Golf Club.