DES MOINES — The Bobcats have an open-book quiz awaiting them at Willow Creek Golf Course.
Monday’s note-taking round yielded a season-best score and a seventh-place finish for the Marshalltown boys’ golf team at the Valley Classic.
In two weeks, the Bobcats will put their education to the test at the Class 4A district meet on the very same course.
Marshalltown matched its low round from four days earlier in its own Joe August Invite, shooting a 312 that was good for seventh out of 10 teams. The Bobcats and Ames both shot the same score, but MHS took the tiebreaker thanks to its fifth — and sixth — scores.
Sophomores Jacob Seberger and Parker Christen both shot 84 to help Marshalltown skirt past the Little Cyclones for the seventh spot after Ames’ fifth golfer shot a 90.
It was a lesson in the importance of each stroke for each player, and one that could potentially lead to a state tournament birth for these Bobcats on Oct. 7.
“With Willow Creek being our district site, it was a great opportunity to have the boys see the course in competition against five of the top eight teams in the state rankings,” said MHS head coach Lucas Johnson. “They learned a lot about the course and especially the lines to take off the tee on the blind holes. It was nice to see our depth play a factor in the fifth-score tiebreaker.”
Seniors Ty Faltys and Eli Polley paced Marshalltown with matching rounds of 76, as both golfers carded a 39 on the front and a 37 on the back.
Freshman Joe Greazel got a 78 to help the cause, thanks in part to a 1-over 36 on the front nine. He had three bogeys and back-to-back birdies on the par-4 fourth and fifth holes.
Senior Adam Boone contributed the fourth counting score with his 82, while the matching 84s from Seberger and Christen played a key role as well.
Johnston edged out host Valley for the team title as the Dragons shot a 4-under-par 280 to the Tigers’ 282. Waukee Northwest (291), Norwalk (294) and Waukee (298) all slid in under 300 as well.
Dowling Catholic (300) claimed sixth, head of Marshalltown, Ames, Des Moines Roosevelt (313) and Urbandale (345).
Marshalltown’s daunting schedule includes three meets in three days, continuing Tuesday with a home dual against Mason City at 2 p.m. at Elmwood Country Club. The Southeast Polk Invite is Wednesday at 9 a.m. at Copper Creek Golf Club in Pleasant Hill, and the Bobcats will host the Iowa Alliance Conference meet the following week.
“The Alliance Conference Meet next week is setting up for a good battle,” Johnson said. “We have five teams realistically in the mix for the team title with us, Ames, Des Moines Roosevelt, Mason City, and Ottumwa all putting up similar scores.”
Valley Golf Classic
At Des Moines
Willow Creek Golf Course, par 71
Team Standings — 1. Johnston 280, 2. West Des Moines Valley 282, 3. Waukee Northwest 291, 4. Norwalk 294, 5. Waukee 298, 6. Dowling Catholic 300, 7. Marshalltown 312, 8. Ames 312, 9. Des Moines Roosevelt 313, 10. Urbandale 345.
Individual (top 10) — 1. Andrew Johannsen, JHN, 65; 2. Lucas Laffoon, JHN, 68; 3. Braeden Nelson, VAL, 70; 4. Cade Sunde, VAL, 70; 5. Grady Sigrist, NOR, 70; 6. Aidan McGreen, VAL, 71; 7. Eddie Hybels, VAL, 71; 8. Jonathan Ward, WAU, 71; 9. Canon Carlson, WAU, 71; 10. Bowen Flemming, AMES, 72.
MARSHALLTOWN (312) — Ty Faltys 76, Eli Polley 76, Joe Greazel 78, Adam Boone 82, Jacob Seberger 84, Parker Christen 84.