Price wins medalist honors as Newton boys finish sixth at Williamsburg

WILLIAMSBURG — Jackson Price has competed in three high school tournaments so far in his career. And he’s got two first-place finishes to show for it.

Another impressive round by the Newton freshman led the Cardinal boys golf team at the Tater Tough Invitational on Wednesday.

Price turned in two birdies at the par 71 Stone Creek Golf Club and that helped Newton place sixth as a team.

“Jackson, being medalist in his third start and two out of his three starts, is a pretty impressive feat,” Newton head boys golf coach Pat Riley said. “And he’s still hungry to improve. There’s quite a buzz about his play with a lot of coaches in the area.”

Newton shot a 347 in sixth. The Cardinals edged Keota (350) by three strokes and were four shots back of Mid-Prairie (343) for fifth.

Host Williamsburg (323) edged Oskaloosa (324) at the top of the team standings. The Raiders’ four counting scores were 82 or better, while Oskaloosa had four scores under 83.

Clear Creek-Amana (331) and Mount Vernon (337) completed the top five, while Benton Community (360) and Anamosa (367) rounded out the nine-team field.

“Wow, it was another day of wind and chill,” Riley said. “We did not play our best rounds today, but considering the conditions, it really isn’t that bad. We’re still young and have a lot to learn to get to the level I feel we are capable of. I look for some good things happening in these next couple weeks.”

Price won medalist honors with a 5-over-par 76. He shot an even 36 on the front nine. His round featured two birdies, nine pars and four bogeys.

Price edged Williamsburg’s Bryce Yearian, who shot a 77 as the runner-up medalist.

Peyton Rozendaal was next for Newton with an 89, while the other two counting scorers were Ethan Pageler and Kinnick Pritchard. Both Pageler and Pritchard shot 91s.

Lincoln Peterson and Grant Osby turned in non-counting scores of 92 and 94, respectively.

“Peyton Rozendaal has had two solid starts, and I look for him to only keep dropping his scores,” Riley said. “Ethan Pageler and Lincoln Peterson continue to improve in consistency and course management. Grant Osby had a bad hole or he would have had his first round in the 80s in terrible conditions.

“Kinnick struggled today after a really bad fifth hole. But I have coached Kinnick for four years now and if I can say anything about him it’s that he doesn’t let these things rattle him. He will bounce back and have really solid rounds for us this year. I have coached for many years and he’s had the best golf demeanor of any player I have ever coached.”