The Ankeny Centennial and Ankeny boys’ golf teams finished in the middle of the pack on Monday in the Turk Bowman Invitational at Veenker Golf Course in Ames.
The Jaguars shot a 307 and tied for seventh place among 18 teams with ninth-ranked Waukee, but lost a tiebreaker to the Warriors and finished eighth. Waukee’s fifth score was two strokes better than Centennial’s.
“We have the type of scores we need to be competitive at the top of the lineup,” said Centennial coach Andrew Reedy. “I know we have other guys capable of shooting the scores we need to get under 300 consistently. We need to do a better job of turning our bad days into 78 and 79 instead of allowing it to balloon Into the mid to high 80s.”
Ankeny, meanwhile, finished in 10th place. The Hawks posted a 326 total after shooting a season-best 292 five days earlier on their home course at Otter Creek.
“Obviously, it wasn’t our best today,” said Ankeny coach Mike Weddingfeld. “For some reason, we don’t usually seem to shoot well at Veenker. It is a very challenging course that only a couple of the guys had played before, and it’s definitely a course that is even tougher when you are not familiar with it. I don’t like to make excuses, but five of the six guys are also fighting the crud and not feeling well, and if it is anything like what I had the last two weeks I can see how golfing may not have been at the top of their priority list today.”
No. 6 Dallas Center-Grimes and No. 4 Waukee Northwest each shot a 296, but the Mustangs won the team title on a better fifth score. No. 5 Valley, the defending champion, placed third with a 298.
Carter Mulcahy of Southeast Polk carded a 3-under-par 69 to earn medalist honors. Caden Norris of Valley was the runner-up with a 70.
McCoy Miller fired a 1-under 71 to lead Centennial. He placed fifth in a field of 108 golfers.
“I definitely left some shots out there, but overall I am happy with how I played,” said Miller. “Veenker is one of the tougher courses that we play during the season, so it was good to shoot an under-par round.”
Tiernan Logan shot an even-par 72 and placed eighth for the Jaguars.
“Tiernan played fantastic today aside from a couple of swings I know he wishes he had back. He made a pitch shot on No. 18 for an eagle. He and McCoy both made eagle on 18,” Reedy said. “McCoy continues to play great. Every time he plays further solidifies himself as one of the best players in the CIML and the state.”
Colby Zinn carded a 79. Bennett Lewis had an 85, Kinnick Nelson shot an 87, and Cade Miller added a 92.
“Colby had a tough start where he found himself 5-over through five holes, but he was able to play the final 13 holes in just 2-over par,” Reedy said. “I am really proud of him for that. That is the type of toughness and resolve you need in order to shoot a score the team can use on days you don’t have your best stuff.”
Riley Dueker led the Hawks with a 79.
“Riley really played well for us today and not having seen the course before, I thought he played a very smart round,” Weddingfeld said. “He hit iron off almost every tee and that really helped him hit fairways, which is key on any course but especially so at Veenker.”
Ankeny’s Gavin Ross shot an 80. Chase Ortega carded an 82, Elliott McHose and Ryan Constable each had an 85, and Griffen Beelner finished with a 93.
“There were a lot of really solid teams in the state there today, so finishing in the middle of the pack was a bit expected unless we really shot our best,” Weddingfeld said. “I would have liked everyone to shoot better, but sometimes the golf course wins. Hopefully, we can get everyone back to 100 percent by the end of the week and be ready for the last half of the season.”
Ankeny will face No. 2 Dowling Catholic and Waukee in a CIML Conference triangular meet on Wednesday. It will be held at River Valley Golf Course in Adel.
Centennial will compete in the Joe August Invitational on Thursday at Elmwood Country Club in Marshalltown. The Jaguars placed fifth at last year’s meet, which was won by Norwalk.
“We are approaching the postseason, and I am going to do all I can to identify the guys that are able to help us down the stretch,” Reedy said.