The Ankeny boys’ golf team earned its first dual win against a CIML Conference opponent on Monday, but it came on a day when the Hawks shot their second-worst score of the season.
Ankeny posted a 323 total in a triangular meet at the Urbandale Golf and Country Club. The Hawks finished two strokes ahead of the host J-Hawks, who finished with a 325.
Both teams lost to second-ranked Waukee Northwest, which shot a 298 to raise its record to 5-1 in the conference.
“I don’t feel like we played very well today,” said Ankeny coach Mike Weddingfeld, whose team is now 1-3 in the league. “I am not sure why we struggled on a relatively straightforward course, but today was not our day. We talked as a team after the round about consistency, and right now I don’t think we have any as our scores individually are too up and down. We had three JV guys shoot scores that would have counted varsity for us so the varsity six need to get to a point where we can have an off day but not 20 strokes off our best.”
Northwest’s Blake Cronin carded a 70 to earn medalist honors. Teammate Landry Vogelaar was the runner-up with a 71.
Gavin Ross led the Hawks with a 76. He placed third overall.
“Gavin played another solid round, but he did let a few strokes get away from him on the last several holes so focusing on each shot and not the end score is very important,” Weddingfeld said.
Ankeny’s Gage Behrens fired an 81 in his return to the varsity team. He had been out of the lineup for the last three meets.
Ryan Constable shot an 82. Griffen Beelner carded an 84, Chase Ortega had an 86, and Elliott McHose added an 87.
“I know the guys are disappointed, and we will try to figure some things out (Tuesday) at practice,” Weddingfeld said. “We look forward to playing Wednesday at Otter (Creek), although our opponents don’t get any easier.”
The Hawks will host a conference triangular meet against No. 4 Johnston (3-1) and Southeast Polk (2-4). The Dragons handed Northwest its only dual loss by one stroke on Aug. 21 at Beaver Creek.