AMES — Playing in a Class 4A district golf tournament again after a season in Class 3A, Newton High’s boys finished out of the running to qualify for the state tournament as a team.
Senior Austin Reynolds was playing the Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames well enough Tuesday to be in the running for an individual spot for the 4A state. Reynolds missed qualifying by one stroke.
Reynolds shot rounds of 37 and 40 for a final 77, placing ninth individually.
“All 76 ties and better qualified as individuals,” Newton boys’ golf coach Pat Riley said.
Des Moines Roosevelt’s Willis Gaer was the 4A district champion at Veenker, shooting a 73 for the 18-hole tournament. Southeast Polk’s Mitchell Rice and Indianola’s Jake Marvelli each carded a 75, placing second and third.
Marvelli led Indiaonla to the team district championship. Indianola and Johnston were first and second via a tiebreaker as both teams finished with a 312 team score. Southeast Polk earned the third team qualifying spot with a 314.
There were three golfers tying with 76s for the day — Ames’ Tyler Wierson, Ankeny Centennial’s Brandon Russell and Marshalltown’s Nate Vance. All three advance to the 4A state tournament Friday and Saturday at the Tournament Club of Iowa in Polk City.
Reynolds finished in a four-way tie with Johnston’s Colin Pranger, Marshalltown’s Cole Davis and Indianola’s Tyler Piper. All four came in with 77s with Pranger taking seventh, Davis in eighth, Reynolds ninth and Piper 10th.
Pranger and Piper move on to the state with their teams.
Newton, which played only two invitational tournament this fall before competing in the district tournament, had a team total of 341 for eighth place in the field of 13 teams. Marshalltown took fourth with a 316 followed by Centennial and Roosevelt, both with 319s, for fifth and sixth, and Ames in seventh with a 320.
Des Moines Hoover placed ninth with a 380 and Des Moines Lincoln was 10th with a 383. At 11th was Des Moines North with a 421 followed by Fort Dodge in 12th with a 426. Des Moines East did not have four individual scores for a team total.
Reynolds and senior Trey Vanderlaan had qualified for the Class 3A state golf tournament in the spring, but Newton was bumped back up into Class 4A competition this fall. Vanderlaan shot an 85 (42-43) in Tuesday’s 4A district tournament.
Paul Maharry, another senior, carded an 89 on rounds of 45 and 44 and junior Shaiden Simmons ended up with a 90 (48-42). The two non-team scoring golfers for the Cardinals Tuesday were junior Nate Vanzee with a 97 (47-50) and senior Sam Supino with a 113 (54-59).
“This ends our fall season, but we still have a 10-meet spring season to look forward to,” Riley said. “This spring we will play all of our Little Hawkeye Conference duals and the conference tournament. We will not be allowed to qualify for state level meets as we are 4A.”
Riley said the decision for the split season was made for two reasons. If Newton was strictly fall golf, the Newton golfers would not be able to earn conference honors. If the Cardinals played spring golf, they would not be allowed to compete at the state level.
“The split season allows for both,” Riley said.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com