Last Thursday saw the Cowboy golf team in a rescheduled meet at Jewell. They defeated both South Hamilton and Eagle Grove in the tri-meet, scoring a 178 with the Hawks at 186 and the Eagles at 217.
Jacob Moore and Jackson Beisel fired identical 44’s for the low team scores, followed in other counters in Elic Fjetland at 45 and Tyson Berning at 45. Other cards were turned in by Colin Kirstein (47) and Cale Kirstein (51). “It was a great day, maybe a little windy, but a good opportunity to put up a nice score,” stated head coach Pat O’Brien. “Pretty average scores by most, except Jackson’s 44. We really needed that score for the team. He can do that, we all just need to get out of our own heads and play.”
The following day saw the team host Webster City and Iowa Falls-Alden at Clarmond. The Lynx won the meet with a 167, followed by the Cadets at 183 and the Cowboys at 185. Moore carded a 42, with Fjetland at 44, Berning at 47 and Colin Kirstein at 50. Other rounds were played by Cale Kirstein (51) and Beisel (53).
“Nice day on our own course, the one we have been practicing on almost all year,” said O’Brien. “An overall disappointing day. Most scores were not near what we can do. Inconsistency in focus and belief in our abilities. Jacob had a good round going until a hiccup on the last hole. Landon and Coady (JV) are playing solid. I look for them to have some breakout rounds.” JV scores were as follows: Landen Kakachek 54, Coady Olson 54, Mack Seaba 55, Garrett Seaba 56, Carson Harle 58 and Carson Nesheim 62.
Saturday brought the Algona Invitational, which was won by Pocahontas Area with a 370 total. They were followed by the Cowboys at 383, Forest City at 386, Algona at 389 and Eagle Grove at 493. Cowboy scores were: Moore 43 and 48 for a 91; Fjetland 44 and 50 for 94; Berning 45 and 43 for 98; Cale K. 50 and 50 for 100; Beisel 49 and 52 for 101; Colin K. 54 and 52 for 106.
“The first 18-hole tournament for probably every one of these guys and at Algona, without a doubt the most up and down course we play,” said O’Brien. “It was pretty cold to start, and I thought a couple of players survived the first nine but I was disappointed that they couldn’t improve on the back nine. I think we were putting too much emphasis on trying to get done so we could get back to prom. I haven’t had a team that worried that much about it. 383 is not a good score, if we could have just played as well as we did the first round we would have won by eight to ten strokes. Hopefully we learned from that.”
On Friday the 30th they went to Clear Lake. St. Edmond finished at 168, followed by the Lions at 169 and the Cowboys at 182. Varsity scores were: Fjetland 40, Moore 44, Camden Hanson 47, Colin K. 51 and M. Seaba 52. JV scores were: Cale K. 49, Beisel 50, Kakacek 54, Olson 54, G. Seaba 56, Harle 58 and Nesheim 62.
“Terrific golf weather, and Elic took advantage of it,” said O’Brien. “His 40 was good for runner-up medalist. I wish we could have backed him up with others that day. Pretty poor overall showing. We are so much better than this, and we are trying too hard to live up to that. We have to relax and enjoy the opportunities that we get.”
They finished with the Saturday tournament hosted by West Hancock. Lake Mills won with a 333 total, followed by the Cowboys at 358, G-H/V AT 359, Belmond-Klemme at 360, Eagle Grove at 424 and West Hancock at 432. 18-hole scores were: Cale K. 43 and 43 for 86; Moore 44 and 45 for 89; Berning 44 and 46 for 90; Colin K. 49 and 44 for 93; Fjetland 52 and 43 for 95; Hanson 52 and 48 for 100.
“For as hot and windy as it was I thought we played pretty solid,” said O’Brien. “Cale came alive and really helped. It was a dog fight for second. We could have been fourth. I was happy with Elic’s comeback. We got better the second nine. We played the whole 18 holes this time. We need this to get ready for conference and postseason golf.”
