NIACC men place 2nd at Iowa Lakes Invite

OKOBOJI  - The NIACC men's golf team opened its fall season with a second-place finish on Friday at the Iowa Lakes Invitational at the Brooks National Golf Course.

NIACC placed second with a 306. Iowa Lakes won the four-team invitational with a 299.

Iowa Central was third with a 307 and the Iowa Lakes B team was fourth with a 331.

Sophomores Jackson Hamlin and Zach Martin paced the Trojans with a pair of 76s. Also for the Trojans, Austin Eckenrod shot a 77, Matthew Heinemann shot a 77 and Beau Thompson shot an 80.

"We shot a solid 306 and lost to a good Laker team by seven," NIACC coach Chris Frenz said.  "The top four were all sophomores that showed some great leadership and still have plenty of room to improve.

"Eckenrod, Hamlin, Martin and Heinemann were solid. Beau Thompson stumbled just a bit at the end but he played well overall for his first collegiate tournament."

Playing as individuals for the Trojans were Peter Stadheim (83), Charles Lorenz (86) and Jackson French (88).

Iowa Lakes' Dawson Weber was the individual medalist with a 71.

NIACC returns to action Thursday when it hosts its own invitational at the Mason City Country Club.

"We need to come ready to play next Thursday at home to protect our home turf," Frenz said.

The NIACC women placed second with a 401 at Friday's invitational. Iowa Lakes won its own invite with a 341.

Iowa Central's Taylor Thede was the womens' individual medalist with an 80.

NIACC was led by freshman Thea Lunning with a 90.

"Thea Lunning shot a decent round," Frenz said. "If she could have gotten her putter working, she would have been four or five strokes better."

Also for the Lady Trojans, Ashley Voves shot a 99, Jordyn Barragy shot a 103, Claire Jordan shot a 109 and Abby Murray shot a 112.

"The greens were fast (Friday) and our scores showed it.

"We're much better than how we played (Friday) and they're looking forward to next Thursday to redeem themselves."