Gavin Ross and the Ankeny boys’ golf team made some tremendous strides on Wednesday.
Ross carded a 3-under-par 68 to earn runner-up honors in a triangular meet at Otter Creek, three of his teammates posted scores of 75 or better, and the Hawks shot a season-best total of 292 on their home course.
“As a team, I am really proud that we could all bring four low scores,” said Ross. “It shows that we are capable of shooting below 300 and have a good chance of getting to state.”
Ankeny came away from the meet with a split. The Hawks lost to fourth-ranked Johnston, which shot a 282, but finished two strokes ahead of Southeast Polk.
The Dragons, who have won two of the last three Class 4A state titles, improved to 5-1 in the CIML Conference. Ankeny is now 2-4 in the league, while the Rams finished with a 2-6 mark.
Johnston’s Andrew Johannsen fired a 65 to earn medalist honors. He is the defending state runner-up.
Ross, meanwhile, enjoyed the best round of his high school career.
“I gave myself a lot of birdie looks,” he said. “I could’ve capitalized on a couple more, but overall I’m very happy. The key for me today was hitting my irons well and securing 16 out of 18 greens in regulation.”
Griffen Beelner carded a 74 for the Hawks. Ryan Constable and Chase Ortega each shot a 75, Riley Dueker had a 79, and Gage Behrens added an 81.
