There’s only one more week for the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial boys’ golf teams to find the right formula that produces a berth to the Class 4A state meet.
Both squads finished in the middle of the pack–again–in the Southeast Polk Invitational on Wednesday at Copper Creek. Centennial shot a 306 and placed sixth in the 11-team field.
Ironically, the Jaguars tied defending champion Southeast Polk for fifth place, but lost a tiebreaker to the Rams for the third time this season.
“It was another event where we had two guys play well and a couple others play well except for a few mistakes,” said Centennial coach Andrew Reedy. “This is very encouraging and feels like we’re rounding into form at the right time. We were leading for a long time; we just struggled some down the stretch. I love our trajectory!”
Ankeny, meanwhile, finished in seventh place. The Hawks posted a 314 total on the same course where they will play in a district meet on Oct. 7.
“I thought we shot OK today. We didn’t play our best, but not our worst either,” said Ankeny coach Mike Weddingfeld. “I do think that we can improve our scores during districts as I know that we did not putt the ball the best today, and several of the guys had some mistakes during their rounds that can be cleaned up. Today’s meet was a good look at how tough our district is going to be as the top five schools on the day are all at Copper with us so we definitely have our work cut out for us.”
Weddingfeld already knew that his team would have to deal with third-ranked Dowling Catholic and No. 4 Valley, two of the top squads from the CIML Conference, at the district meet. But No. 12 Norwalk and No. 17 Indianola proved on Wednesday that they will be formidable as well.
Indianola shot a 295 to edge Norwalk by three strokes for the team crown. Dowling placed third with a 299, followed by Valley with a 304.
Dowling’s AJ Sposato carded a 3-under-par 68 to earn medalist honors. Valley’s Braeden Nelson was the runner-up with a 70.
Centennial’s McCoy Miller placed fourth with an even-par 71. It was his eighth top-five finish of the season.
“McCoy played well again,” Reedy said. “I think he managed his game the best I have seen so far this season. It was one of those rounds that could have been five shots lower, but also could have been five shots higher if he didn’t manage his game well. He is maturing as a player, and that is a great thing.”
Bennett Lewis placed 12th for the Jaguars with a 75.
“Bennett played phenomenal!” Reedy said. “He made one bad swing that led to a triple bogey on his final hole of the day. His approach to the game and his golf IQ are incredible for a freshman. He was really disappointed with his finish, but I am really proud of him and excited to watch him continue to grow as a player.”
Centennial’s Tiernan Logan carded a 78. Colby Zinn had an 82, and Kinnick Nelson added an 83.
Ryan Constable fired a 76 to place 16th for the Hawks.
“Ryan played another really solid round for us–five bogeys and a birdie,” Weddingfeld said. “He did a great job of limiting those mistakes that lead to doubles and triples.”
Ankeny’s Gavin Ross carded a 78. Riley Dueker shot a 79, Griffen Beelner had an 81, Elliott McHose fired an 83, and Chase Ortega finished with an 89.
“Riley and Gavin both battled today as they had some (rough) holes, but they also had a lot of really good holes,” Weddingfeld said. “They each recorded three birdies on the day so getting rid of those bogeys or higher is key to a good round.”
Both Ankeny and Centennial will compete in the conference meet on Wednesday at Beaver Creek. No. 10 Waukee is the defending champion.
The Hawks placed fifth in last year’s meet on their home course at Otter Creek. The Jaguars will look to improve on their seventh-place finish.
“We look forward to preparing for the conference tournament next week and then our sole focus will be on preparing for districts,” Weddingfeld said. “Sometimes it is a benefit to be the underdog with nothing to lose.”