Newton boys golf team turns corner with solid weekend

KNOXVILLE — The Newton boys golf team posted its second-best score of the season at the Knoxville Invitational on Saturday.

And it was a score head coach Pat Riley will take any day. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the rest of the field had some of their best rounds of the season, too, at the par 70 Pine Knolls Golf Club.

“We played well today. I’ll take anything under 320 any day,” Riley said. “We just had some good teams there today so we ended up last with our second-best round of the year.”

Newton finished with a 315 in fifth place. That was 17 strokes under its season average though.

Pella Christian’s second-best round of the season won the tournament as the Eagles carded a 289. The rest of the five-team field featured Knoxville (294), PCM (300) and Albia (304).

The Panthers, Mustangs and Blue Demons turned in their best 18-hole rounds of the season.

Pella Christian was 21 shots below its season average, Knoxville’s average is 321 and PCM and Albia have averages of 320 and 315, respectively.

“I feel like the pieces are coming together for us,” Riley said. “We just need to have the right six guys playing at the right time.”

Lincoln Peterson led Newton with a career-best 74. He placed 11th overall and his best 18-hole score prior to Saturday was the 82 he carded on Friday.

Jackson Price finished 14th with a 75, which matched a season best. Newton’s other two scoring golfers were Peyton Rozendaal (82) and Mason Smith (84). Carter Forst (86) and Ethan Pageler (87) had non-counting scores.

“Lincoln Peterson had a really solid round that I have been hoping for him all year,” Riley said. “Jackson Price did Jackson Price things.”

PCM was led by Easton Van Veen, who finished third with a career-best 72. Jeffery McDanel was 10th with a 74 and Tate Tangeman’s career-best 76 was good enough for 16th.

Charlie Ford (78) had the other counting score in 19th and Pete Kiernan (83) and Trent Nickelson (84) posted non-counting scores.

Pella Christian now has the second-best average in Class 2A, while Albia’s 315 average ranks sixth in 2A.

Knoxville’s Grant Gerdes won medalist honors with an even-par 70. The Panthers’ scoring golfers were 1-8-12-13.

Pella Christian’s Eliot Menninga was the runner-up with a 72. He has the ninth-best average in 2A at 75, and the Eagles grabbed spots 2-4-5-7 in the tournament.

Cardinals begin weekend with strong score at Winterset

WINTERSET — Newton posted its third-best score of the season, a pair of Cardinals turned in career-best scores and the squad placed fourth at the Winterset Invitational on Friday.

The Cardinals shot 13 strokes under their season average at the par 70 Lakeview Country Club.

“We played pretty well today,” Riley said. “If we can get on a roll here, we can make some noise come sectionals. I like the direction we’re headed. Now we have to keep going that way.”

North Polk, which has fifth-best 18-hole average in 3A, won the tournament with a 302. Host Winterset (309) and Gilbert (310) also finished in front of Newton, which turned in a 319 in fourth.

The rest of the nine-team field featured Bondurant-Farrar (338), the Winterset JV (342), Van Meter (361), Clarke (373) and Nodaway Valley (383).

Price led the Cardinals in sixth with a 76 and Lane Rozendaal carded a career-best 79 in 10th.

Lincoln Peterson’s 82 and Mason Smith’s 82 were the final counting scores. It was Peterson’s career-best score until he bettered it on Saturday.

Forst (86) and Kayden Westlund (91) had non-counting scores. It was the varsity debut for Westlund.

Peyton Rozendaal missed the meet because of the senior awards banquet.

“Lane Rozendaal is playing some really solid golf right now,” Riley said. “If he keeps shooting in the 70s along with Price, and we get two or three more guys in the high 70s or low 80s we will sneak up on some teams.”

North Polk’s Ty Haisman, who has the top individual 18-hole average in 3A, was the meet medalist with a 2-under-par 68.

Winterset’s Daxon Weeks shot a 2-over-par 72 as the runner-up medalist.