Newton girls win road triangular at Urbandale

URBANDALE — Addie Ratcliff earned runner-up medalist honors, Eva Pak was just one shot back in third and a pair of Cardinals were two behind that during a triangular at Urdandale Golf and Country Club on Monday.

The Cardinals dominated Urbandale and Des Moines East with a 197. The host Jayhawks shot a 224 in second and the Scarlets carded a 249 in third.

“When checking in with the girls during the round, I was a little worried we wouldn’t break 200, but they did their best and we got it done,” Newton head girls golf coach Nicole George said. “The wind really was brutal today, and it made the ball flight more unpredictable. So we got into a few too many hard spots, which ended up in a few bad holes for all of them.

“That doesn’t mean there weren’t good holes, too, and I’m glad to see my players continue to grow in the game.”

Ratcliff shot a 48 in second and Pak’s 49 was good enough for third. Johana Cerna and Kalleigh Berndt both shot 50s to complete the top six. Evie Main (54) and Addie Hook (58) turned in non-counting scores.

The top six finishers were awarded medals, and Newton had four in the first six positions.

“The girls were excited, and it was a good moment as a coach to see them be rewarded for their work this early in the season,” George said.

East’s Saleah Vivanh-Vong was the meet medalist after firing a 41. Urbandale was led by Brookelyn Hartman’s 50.

Cardinals sitting fifth after first round of LHC tournament

GRIMES — Newton’s 405 in the team’s first 18-hole round of the season was a little bit higher than last year’s season average.

But the Cardinals are in fifth place after the first round of the Little Hawkeye Conference tournament.

“We had a tough conference meet today,” George said. “We struggled with the wind and having our first 18-hole meet the day after a 9-hole night meet was a little too much for us to handle.”

The Cardinals’ 405 was only better than Oskaloosa, which shot a 469 in sixth. Dallas Center-Grimes is five shots ahead of Newton after firing a 400.

Norwalk leads the conference standings after the opening round following a 366. Pella (380) and Indianola (385) are separated by five strokes in second and third.

Newton was led by Pak and Cerna, who are tied for 12th after turning in 97s. Ratcliff (103) and Hook (108) had the other counting scores, while Main (111) and Berndt (114) turned in non-counting scores.

“I could tell that the girls were tired, especially with about six holes left to play,” George said. “Although the scores may not show it, I saw a lot of good golf shots today from all my players so I know this is just a bump in the road and it’s still very early in the season.”

Pak and Cerna both were awarded one point for the season-long conference standings.

Pella’s Karsyn Lyons is the leader in the clubhouse after 18 holes. She fired an 86 at Beaver Creek Golf Course and was awarded 12 points. Her teammate, Harper Phillips, is third after scoring 10 points following her 91.

Norwalk put all six golfers in its top 11. Lydia Krueger (91), Addie Smith (91) and Ava Garvey (92) are in the top five with 11, nine and eight points, respectively.